Category business

By Ms. Damayanti Bhattacharya, the CEO of Maker Bhavan Foundation.

“The global maker movement has recently made inroads into India. While higher education, specifically science and engineering education, is slowly but steadily becoming modernised, some challenges remain the same. Girls and women have traditionally been underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field. While the participation rates are better today than they were a decade ago, the fact remains we need more women in STEM and broader participation of women and gender diversity in learning-by-doing and hands-on ‘Maker’ activities. In other words, we need more ‘MakeHers’, as Intel has creatively coined. Make in India will remain a pipe dream without the millions of Makers and MakeHers at the leading edge of creative technological innovation. Our work at the Maker Bhavan Foundation is to fuel and make this dream a reality. Change happens not by our words or opinions but by our actions. My work as the Foundation’s CEO is to set a living example of the change I wish to see among young girls and women changemakers of the future. They will do an even bigger and better job than anything that my generation has achieved.”

New Delhi, March 2, 2023: One of the fastest-growing players in the smart watch manufacturing segment in the country, Maxima, continues to revitalize wearable technologies with the launch of its advanced and stylish smart watches – Max Pro Sky. The new addition to Maxima’s wide range of smart watches are designed with unique features like screen lock with password and options to create personalized QR codes. Max Pro Sky smart watches are now available in the market and can be purchased through omnichannel platforms at an attractive price range of Rs 1799.

“The very creative and professional team at Maxima has always been fervently dedicated towards leveraging the best-in-the-market technologies to introduce top quality smart watches which are loaded with advanced features. This time we have added personalized QR code, through which consumers can add their business, payment, contacts QR codes directly to the watch and can use them anywhere. I am confident that like our other smart watches, Max Pro Sky will also get immensely popular in the market and will soon re-define the style statement of our customers,” said Manjot Purewal, Managing Partner of Maxima.

Max Pro Sky has 1.85” HD Display with bright colors, 240*280 pixel resolution, always on display feature and has 150+ watch faces. The new smart watches of Maxima come in five exciting colors Midnight Black, Gold Black, Gold Peach, Army Green, Silver Blue. Some of the most outstanding features of the Max Pro Sky include advanced Bluetooth calling chip with high-definition speaker and mic, options to add contacts, recent call logs, dial pads, weather updates, three menu styles, split screen, etc. The technologically-advanced smart watches are also powered by built-in Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice assistance and in-built mic and speaker.

New Delhi: March 02, 2023 – Skyview by Empyrean, an initiative of Empyrean Skyview Projects Pvt. Ltd that seamlessly blends hospitality and adventure in the mountains, is all set to celebrate a very special Women’s Week at its 22-acre property in Sanget Valley – Patnitop, Jammu. From March 6 to 12, all women visitors can avail a 50% discount at the adventure activities offered at this mountain harbour.

Guests can go for a ride on the Skyview Gondola (ropeway), one of the highest CEN-certified gondolas in Asia covering 2.8 km in flat 10 minutes and soak in the captivating and stunning Himalayan Mountain range. Enroute you can enjoy sights of terraced valleys, pine forests, flowers in bloom, lush meadows and panoramic views of the snow-covered mountains at the offer price of just INR 550 + GST.

Apart from this, the guests can also avail a 50% discount on the zig zag zip line — the longest in Asia as well as on mountain biking, the magic carpet and the tubing sledge. One can also opt for curated trekking itineraries, camping or take nature walks with naturalists and trekking specialists to ensure every guided experience is memorable.

For those who want to gift themselves or their loved ones something special from the region can head to the Hands of Gold artisanal boutique at the property that displays traditional and authentic Kashmiri handicrafts and local products.

Skyview by Empyrean houses luxury rooms and suites with restaurants offering guests the best-in-class services. The Banana Leaf restaurant and the Skyview Café on the property offers delectable Indian, Chinese and continental cuisine. Guests visiting the property between March 3 to 26 have a special treat in store during weekends as Chef Anuj Bhagat will serve a special menu comprising a variety of aromatic and spicy Thai food at The Banana Leaf restaurant.

The Skyview by Empyrean Women’s Day package can be availed between March 6-12, 2023 and includes a 50% discount on all adventure activities, complimentary access to the Club House to play Pool/Snooker, Foosball, Air Hockey and board games.

02nd March 2023: Moneycontrol presents the first-ever edition of the India Fintech Conclave (IFC), a brand-new initiative to create dialogues on key issues related to the booming fintech space in the country. The event slated for March 7th in Mumbai, will bring together the who’s who of fintech in India—a Union Minister, RBI, policy-makers, bankers, and top founders—key stakeholders who are reshaping the landscape of a booming sector in the country.

Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar will deliver the inaugural address and RBI’s Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudary will deliver a special keynote. The packed India Fintech Conclave will also feature prominent speakers such as NPCI CEO Dilip Asbe, ONDC CEO T Koshy, IDFC First MD and CEO V Vaidyanathan, Federal Bank ED Shalini Warrier, Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath, Razorpay founder, and CEO Harshil Mathur.

There will be insightful panel discussions on pertinent topics such as payments, lending, market regulations as well as digital public infrastructure featuring the founders of unicorns and soonicorns such as Yubi, Open, Kreditbee, and M2P.Through fireside chats and deep-dive panel discussions, Moneycontrol’s editors will probe the biggest trends that are reshaping fintech in India. As the sector braces for global and local economic turbulence coupled with an uncertain regulatory environment, Moneycontrol’s India Fintech Conclave will refocus the popular debate on issues that are critical to sustained and inclusive growth.

Binoy Prabhakar, Executive Editor, Moneycontrol said, “Our inaugural fintech conclave has been conceived with the aim of generating discussions that would help stakeholders harness its potential and position it for transformational growth. We believe the conclave will put the spotlight on the defining trends that will help India’s fintech sector grab opportunities and navigate uncertainties.”

Tune in to the conclave as they discuss, debate, and come up with solutions that will strike a fine balance between fintech innovation and regulation. Follow all updates at https://www.moneycontrol.com/msite/india-fintech-conclave #MCFintechConclave.

Indian mobile payments and financial services company Paytm has collaborated with the MeitY on ‘Stay Safe Online’ Campaign during India’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) intergovernmental forum.

G20-Stay Safe Online Campaign (www.mygov.in/staysafeonline) is aimed at creating awareness among citizens about online safety as more and more people are rapidly adopting digital payments. The focus of the Stay Safe Online campaign is to promote cyber hygiene by educating them about online risk & safety measures. This campaign is in line with many such initiatives taken by Paytm and MeitY to sensitise users on online safety amid a greater usage of social media and digital payments.

The Stay Safe Online campaign comes at a time when the country is taking strides towards becoming a trillion-dollar digital economy. India is in the midst of a digital transformation with a proliferation of smartphones, increasing internet penetration and a young population. Technological development in India is advancing exponentially with innovations like artificial intelligence, Internet of things, augmented reality and metaverse evolving and becoming a part of our daily activities, this collaboration will not only support and equip the existing Internet users but will also be beneficial for the rapidly increasing new Internet users in India.

This campaign will be carried out in multiple languages to reach a wider audience. As a champion of digital payments, Paytm’s collaboration with this campaign will help in its better outreach.

The resources under the G20-Stay Safe Online Campaign will cover themes such as tackling Online frauds, reporting harmful content, tips to Stay Safe Online and organizing National level competitions to inculcate cyber hygiene practices among the internet users as part of Campaign & participate at https://www.staysafeonline.in/competitions.

As the pioneer of mobile payments, Paytm has empowered citizens with a wide range of digital payments and financial services, thus driving financial inclusion in the country. Paytm has one of the lowest fraud-to-sales ratios in the industry. With innovative technology-led products and services, the fintech giant has also been actively educating its users about online safety to ensure their cyber safety. In fact, its revolutionary IoT device, Paytm Soundbox has been a boon for visually challenged merchants. Its real-time audio alerts help these merchants keep a track of all payments.

As part of the collaboration, Paytm will share creatives, posters, banners and videos with MeitY’s MyGov Citizen Engagement Platform to amplify dissemination of safe digital payments and conduct awareness programmes on Cyber Safety.

Paytm also offers safe and secure money transfers. With UPI emerging as the most popular mode of mobile payments, Paytm has created blogs on secure UPI transactions while its support section on the website lists out safe ways through which money transfer can be done. The company also launched Paytm Payment Protect, an insurance cover to safeguard UPI payments.

One97 Communication Limited’s associate Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) has created a separate web page on fraud prevention to ensure safe banking for users apart from blogs and social media campaigns.

India,2nd March 2023: T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem, has been chosen as the sole representative of India at the prestigious “City-Tech for a sustainable future” event in Japan on 27th and 28th February 2023. The event is the largest and most influential global platform for startups to showcase their innovations and technologies and create a sustainable society. T-Hub’s selection to represent India at this event provides Indian startups with a unique opportunity to gain global exposure and connect with potential partners, investors, and customers in the Japanese market.

Out of the 30 countries participating in the event, T-Hub has been selected to represent India at the delegation. After receiving around 70 applications from startups across India, T-Hub selected nine startups with proven business models and global use cases to represent India at the event. These startups, including Invenndt Insights, Graymatics, Flytta, ZenDevX, Landeed, Hala, Interview Desk, Coneio, and Statwig will showcase their innovative solutions at the event. T-Hub will facilitate a free showcase booth for the startups and play a pivotal role in facilitating investor, customer, and partnership discussions in Japan for the startups.

T-Hub’s CEO, Mahankali Srinivas Rao (MSR), stated that, “We are excited to represent India at the City Tech Tokyo event. Our participation in the City Tech Tokyo event provides a unique opportunity for Indian startups to connect with potential partners, investors, and customers in the Japanese market. We are proud to facilitate a platform for these 9 startups to explore collaborations and expand their footprint in Japan.”

The City-Tech Tokyo event is organized by influential business alliances and organizations such as Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan Business Federation, Japan Association of Corporate Executives, Japan Association of New Economy, Japan Venture Capital Association, and The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The startups will be part of an extended program with TiE Japan and the Indian IT Association of Japan to explore the Japanese and Southeast Asian market. The event provides a unique opportunity for T-Hub to connect with global players and explore potential collaborations.

Yuma Saito, CEO & Partner at Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co. Ltd (Japan), expressed his satisfaction with the participation of T-Hub and the 9 selected startups at the City Tech Tokyo event. He stated, “The startups that T-Hub has arranged to showcase at the India pavilion are very promising, and we could not have asked for a better ambassador than T-Hub to represent India at the City-Tech event. We believe that T-Hub’s participation in the event will strengthen the relationship between India and Japan, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration in the future to further bridge the Indo-Japan corridor.”

The selection of nine promising startups as part of the delegation arranged by T-Hub is a testament to its commitment to supporting the growth of startups and fostering innovation in India. The event will provide the startups with a unique opportunity to explore the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets and connect with potential partners, investors, and customers.

With its strong ecosystem of partners, T-Hub has successfully impacted over 1800 startups through various programs and initiatives, connecting them with over 600 global and national corporate partners and providing 2000 mentor connects to help them scale. T-Hub’s participation in the City-Tech Tokyo event is a significant milestone in its mission to create a robust and sustainable startup ecosystem in India and beyond.

02 March 2023, National: Industry veterans Sandeep Mishra, Saket Kumar and Abhishek Swaroop along with their technology partner Abhishek Swarup launched ETF Junction, India’s first Fintech platform dedicated to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETF Junction aims to create a complete ecosystem involving Mutual Funds, Investors, Advisors & Influencers/experts and help retail investors to expand their investment horizon to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

Through the platform, investors can now access 9500+ Indian & International ETFs, more than 660 Global ETF Issuers, 165 Global Stock Exchanges and a 10 trillion USD Global AUM using industry-first tools. AI powers ETF Junction’s intelligent algorithm to bring new investors to the ETF ecosystem with relevant news, articles, and research; exclusive to requirements & preferences. The platform has signed up with Asset Management Companies to create awareness campaigns for educating investors on the benefits of ETFs. It addresses the underlying challenge of lack of infrastructure and awareness about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) beyond traditional Mutual Funds.

The platform intends to create an ETF-exclusive investment community where investors can share their investment thoughts and concerns, engage with peers and learn all about ETFs from experts and verified influencers. The ETF with its vast diversified offerings stands as a great investment avenue for both new -age as well as traditional investors.

Sandeep Mishra, Co-Founder of ETF Junction, said, “The ETF market in India is worth 5 lakh crores at the moment, compared to the approximately 40-42 lakh crore Mutual fund market. ETF Junction aims to educate the general public about how an ETF can offer lower operating costs than traditional open-end funds, flexible trading, and greater transparency.”

He adds, “ETFs have demonstrated an annual growth of 22% in the last 10 years in the international markets. Currently the global ETF market size is approx. 10 trillion USD and is expected to touch 20 trillion dollars by 2026. We foresee a similar trend in India within the next 3-5 years. ETF Junction aims to become a one-stop solution for everything ETF and gradually help approx. 3.5 crore MF retail investors and 10.8 cr demat account holders to expand their investment horizon to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Currently, 30 lakh investors are investing in ETFs, our aim is to tap the first timer ETF investors, get in more folios from the mutual fund investors and gradually try for a pie from the stock investors. We are targeting to achieve at least 10% market share within 2 years.”

SEBI has introduced new guidelines to make the ecosystem viable for investors and foster more ETF transactions on exchanges. The regulation changes effectively addressed improving the liquidity, tracking error limits and limiting disclosures for exchange traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. Since the implementation of these regulations in May 2022, exchanges have witnessed a substantial increase in trading from retail investors. The primary bottleneck to the growth of the ETF industry in India remains the need for proper infrastructure and the absence of awareness amongst investors.

Chintan Haria, Head- Investment Strategy, ICICI Prudential Asset Management, said “India’s evaluation as a non-financial saving country to becoming a financial saving showcases the growth in investment avenues from insurance, fixed income sources. ETFs are the extension of opportunities for investors. New age solutions like ETF Junction are further helping for higher penetration and inching towards financial inclusion by educating and providing experts access to retail investors. With 20+ ETFs products launched in the last 2 years and increase in distribution along with regulators’ move enabling mutual funds to incentivise market makers has created a strong foundation for the equity market to grow at a greater height.”

During the last 5 years, passive funds AUM in India has increased from ₹52,368 crores on 31 March 2017 to Rs. 4,99,319 crores on 31 March 2022 (annualized growth rate of 57%). During this period, the number of passive funds available in India has also grown from 84 in March 2017 to 228 in March 2022.

In 2004, she along with her husband Ivan Castelino, set up In-Solutions Global (ISG) providing PaaS (Payments-as-a-Service) under the brand ‘Genius’ and has not looked back ever since. ISG is now an established fintech and regulatory solution provider in India, CEMEA and Africa, serving some of the largest issuers, acquirers, TPPs, card schemes and merchants under the supervision of a professionally managed Board of Directors.

Adelia has used her domain expertise and leadership skills to grow ISG into an enterprise-wide digital payments solution provider. Today, ISG is an RBI-approved/ licensed payment aggregator and provides mission-critical payment services to public, private, and cooperative banks, as well as, governments and education providers. She has created a global footprint, strategically partnering with world-leading networks and payment operators, with a competent focus on innovation and customer experience.

Adelia is an empowering mother of two fintech enthusiasts. An active member of her local community where she resides, she continues to inspire people both inside and outside the industry to think differently about payments.

Mumbai, 2nd March 2023: South West Pinnacle Exploration Limited (SWPEL), an Integrated Service Provider providing end-to-end Drilling & exploration of Natural resources announced that it has won a new contract from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a Gold category state PSU.

The Company bagged a contract from OMC for diamond core drilling work at chromite ore leases in the state of Odisha. The contract, worth Rs. 13.57 cr, is expected to be completed by FY 2024 – 25.

This new contract further expands SWPE’s geographical reach across India, and expands the portfolio of minerals exploration.

Commenting on this development, Mr. Vikas Jain, Chairman & Managing Director said,

“I am glad to announce that we have recently won a new contract from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). We shall be conducting diamond core drilling work at chromite ore leases in the state of Odisha.

The contract is worth Rs. 13.57 cr and we expect to complete it by FY2024 -25. This further expands our geographical footprint across the country and our association with various State corporations in this industry.

Our diversified exploration and drilling capabilities allow us to provide such services for a wide range of minerals and ores.

I would like to thank the entire team of SWPE for their dedication and hard work, as well as our stakeholders, whose support helps us push the Company forward.”

Bengaluru 2nd March 2023: Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with State Bank of India (SBI), country’s leading public sector bank to offer unique financing solutions for the purchase of the all-new Tata Ace EV – India’s most advanced, zero-emission, four-wheel commercial vehicle. Through this partnership, Tata Motors will leverage SBI’s strong network to make these solutions accessible to customers.

On the occasion, Mr Pravin Raghavendra– Deputy Managing Director (Retail – Agri, SME & FI), State Bank of India, said, “We are proud to partner with Tata Motors in an endeavour to offer attractive financing options for the Ace EV. We are confident that the new financing scheme will help individuals and MSMEs in purchasing the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly electric mini-truck.”

Commenting on this partnership, Mr. Rajesh Kaul, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Commercial Vehicle Business, Tata Motors, said, “We are delighted to join hands with the largest bank in the country, the State Bank of India, to offer unique, seamless financing schemes for the Tata Ace EV customers. The MoU has further strengthened our aim to make Tata Ace EV more accessible to customers. We are confident that our collaboration will fast-track our efforts towards sustainable mobility and support the nation’s net-zero aspirations.”

The new Ace EV is co-developed with rich collaboration with its stakeholders, and has successfully completed stringent real-world market trials with its customers. Supported by a diligently curated ecosystem, the Ace EV comes with a holistic solution for hassle free e-cargo mobility and 5-year comprehensive maintenance package. The Ace EV’s supporting ecosystem includes development and deployment of charging infrastructure, setting up of dedicated Electric Vehicle Support Centres for maximum fleet uptime, deployment of Tata Fleet Edge – the next-gen optimal fleet management solution, support of Tata UniEVerse, the proven enabling eco-system of relevant Tata Group companies, and partnerships with the country’s leading financiers for availing funding.