Category business

Pune, February 22, 2023: India’s leading incubation and investment platform, AIC (Atal Incubation Centre)-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Ministry of MSME, and Ministry of Electronics and IT, Govt. of India, has announced the launch of the AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge. This one-of-a-kind EV challenge is envisioned at encouraging startups from across the country working in the EV charging infrastructure, EV products, components, EV-related service, and solutions space to work on the challenges faced by the electric vehicle (EV) industry and come up with innovative resolutions. Nominations for AIC-Pinnacle EV Challenge will remain open till 28th February 2023. Startups offering specialized groundbreaking and potentially scalable solutions in one or multiple domains of challenges faced by the EV industry can apply.

Speaking on the announcement, Dr. Sudhir Mehta, Founder, AIC-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum, and Chairman of Pinnacle Industries & EKA said, “We are excited to launch the AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge and provide a platform for startups to work on the challenges faced by the EV industry. With this EV Challenge, we aim to discover promising products, technology, and startups, explore commercial opportunities, and encourage the implementation of solutions and innovation in the EV sector. While the electric vehicle industry in India is growing vigorously, it is concurrently posed with a diverse set of challenges. We firmly believe that startups in our country possess a huge potential, talent, and futuristic vision and have an enormous ability to play a significant role in addressing the challenges the EV industry faces. They deeply understand the ground-level problems of the EV Industry and are highly driven to come up with innovative-scalable ideas and solutions that contribute largely to our country’s sustainability goals. We are positive that this challenge will inspire and support startups to come up with innovative solutions that will shape the future of the EV industry.”

The forum plans to facilitate the winning startups with cash prizes, product development support, and manufacturing partnerships with the EV industry. The first winner will be awarded a cash prize of INR 2,00,000, the second winner will receive a cash prize of INR 1,50,000, followed by a prize of INR 1,00,000 to the third winner of the challenge. In addition, the startups shall be provided incubation support, mentoring, co-working space, lab space, IP and legal support, funding support, networking support, etc by AIC-Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum. The startups, if deemed fit, will also be provided support in the commercialization of the products.

The primary areas of conundrum are challenges related to the product, cost, Infrastructure, service, supply chain, investments, skilled manpower, the transition of ICE to EV, vehicle-to-grid integration, and any other latent issues. Only registered startups will be eligible for consideration and must apply on the official application website upto 28th February 2023. Winners will be announced in the first week of March on AIC-Pinnacle’s official website.

The EV Challenge conceptualized & organized by AIC -Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum will serve as a proving ground for future automotive engineers and organizations. The challenge is aimed at realizing energy-efficient solutions while meeting the decarbonization needs of the automotive industry. The challenge will provide startups with a platform to showcase their ideas and receive support in the form of mentorship and access to industry experts.

The AIC – Pinnacle EV Challenge will be conducted in two stages. The first stage will involve a selection process based on the applications received, and selected startups will have the opportunity to work on their ideas with support from industry experts. The second stage will involve a pitch session, where selected startups will present their solutions to a panel of judges, who will select the winning startups.

India, February 22nd, 2023: Sports have been an integral part of world culture dating back as far as ancient civilizations. The most eminent example of sports culture and society, the Olympic Games are more than 3,000 years old. Sports have always had an extraordinary impact on society, culture, economy, and every other facet of a nation. For those engaged in sports, sports are the epitome of diligence, hard work, and dedication. In India, the sports sector has seen exponential growth and is considered to be the next big opportunity. With the best outcome at the Olympics and the Commonwealth games off late, India is on the rise, and all due to the best infrastructure and nutrition being provided to them. In the past few decades, we have witnessed countries such as America, Australia, and China invest heavily in the sports domain, especially at the grassroots level to develop community sports complexes and facilities. These facilities are available to their young population across schools, colleges, and universities. This has aided these countries to be some of the chart leaders and global sporting powers in world games with their athletes being able to practice at state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities.

When it comes to sports, the Northeast can least be ignored. Over the years the athletes from this region have held the Indian tricolor high. The Meghalaya Government run by the National People’s Party and the visionary Shri Conrad Sangma has seen an upsurge in Youth Affairs and Sports Infrastructure, besides significant other developments over the course of the last few years. Meghalaya has been a state that lives and breathes sports, especially football, since its inception in 1972 when it became a separate state from Assam. The state boasts of some international players that have represented the country in the past. It is seen that the state of Meghalaya is capable to produce several champion athletes in various sports. With a state-of-the-art sporting infrastructure that is being developed for various sports, the aspiration to develop sporting talent in the state is currently being effortlessly accomplished. The State Sports Policy of Meghalaya aims at promoting active participation in sports and physical activity as the central premise of Meghalaya’s culture, ethos, and way of life. The Government of Meghalaya believes that participation in sports and games improves the well-being and quality of life, brings social harmony, and promotes economic activities.

In their quest to earn more sporting laurels for the state, the Government has implemented 400 Grassroots Sports infrastructure projects which are under construction and several iconic sports stadiums like the much-awaited Football Stadium at the P.A. Sangma Sports Complex have been inaugurated in record time. The stadium invokes a great historical significance as it witnessed Tura Football League and Subroto Cup since its inception in the year 2006. The upgradation of this stadium has been a mammoth undertaking by the NPP Government in Meghalaya. The Stadium is a technological marvel, being the country’s largest pre-engineered composite football stadium with a sizeable seating capacity of 9500. The beautiful stadium is part of an equally magnificent Sports Complex built at a cost of ₹.127.7 Crore which is also nearing its completion. The Football Stadium and the two Indoor stadiums are built over a combined area of over 17,000 sqm. The Indoor Stadiums with Gymnasium, Swimming Pool, Table Tennis Hall, Squash Hall, and Badminton Hall have also been operational. Additionally, large infrastructures will also be ready in the next few months with JN Stadium (Polo Grounds Shillong) being upgraded, and Wahiajer Stadium and Indoor Stadium in Jongksha entering their concluding stages.

Sport is woven into the fabric of every community in the state. Traditional sports have been a part of every community’s lifestyle over the years, and it is seen to date that several communities still engage themselves in these traditional sports. Meghalaya has performed well in sports at the national and international levels in the past and has huge opportunities to develop more athletes in various other sports. With an aim to achieve laurels for the state, the “Meghalaya State Sports Policy 2019” is proposed with a commitment to excel in sports and to position Meghalaya as a leading sporting state in India. The State provides year-round, high-intensity, individual, event, and position-specific training. Teach athletes, who are now proficient at performing basic and sport-specific skills, to perform those skills under a variety of competitive conditions during training. Place special emphasis on optimum preparation by modeling competitions in training. Individually tailor fitness programs, recovery programs, psychological preparation, and technical development. Emphasize individual preparation that addresses each athlete’s individual strengths and weaknesses.

The NPP government has launched a talent identification program for athletes. The program aims to identify talented athletes at a young and impressionable age and then hone their skills through curated training programs. In the first phase of the program, 4,600 children in the age groups of 10-18 were tested on international standards for their athletic abilities. The initial findings are very encouraging and dozens of kids whose athletic abilities are at par and even better than international benchmarks have been identified. Raksan Sangma, a 17-year-old boy from Southwest Garo Hills clocked 2.84 seconds in the 20-meter sprint against the international benchmark of 2.99 seconds.

To realize this vision, STAR Talent Identification Program was launched to identify sports talents and impart quality training as per international standards, to encourage Coaches and Athletes, Cash award Scheme has been initiated. Rs. 4 Cr have been disbursed benefitting nearly 3000 athletes. ASPIRE program was launched where 23,000+ youths were skilled in soft skills and life skills for confidence building and nurturing critical thinking. Sports Scholarship Scheme was initiated to award sports achievers. The incentive is being transferred every month to the sportspersons. Meghalaya Games was held after 16 Years while hosting the 2nd Northeast Olympics successfully as one of the best-hosted games in the history of the Northeast region.

Bearing testimony to the entire effort by athletes supported by Government, the 2nd Northeast Olympic Games was a remarkable success. The organization of this event is a testament to what the Northeast can do and the signs of what the Northeast can achieve in the times to come. There was a concerted and systemic effort behind the stupendous success of Team Meghalaya with unprecedented successes. Despite COVID, the NPP-led government continued supporting the athletes, ensuring that they get the best of facilities, training, and opportunity. The Government and the various sporting associations worked with a single-minded focus to emerge as champions. Meghalaya is now completely ready to host the National Games in 2023 and other international events. Meghalaya finished with a rich haul of 36 Gold Medals and an overall tally of 149 Medals.

22nd, January 2023: Internshala Trainings, the skilling engine of the career-tech platform, Internshala, in its exclusive report, has highlighted Web Development and Python courses being the most popular among students across the country. As per the report, the top five cities that recorded students opting for the Web Development and Python courses were Hyderabad (12.81%), Delhi (12.40%), Bengaluru (11.16%), Kolkata (8.51%), and Pune (8.23%).

The report highlighted that more than 36.12% of students wanted to opt for an online certification course like Web Development and Python as it may help them secure better job opportunities and internships, 28.38% of students believed that the courses help them to enhance their skills. While 10.69% of students were interested in opting for the courses to acquire certificates. Other reasons, like the ability to build their industry-level real-world project and fulfill the demand of their college authorities, were responsible for students to opt for Web Development and Python courses.

The report highlighted some interesting figures as the Tier-III cities recorded the highest interest to opt for Web Development and Python courses, i.e. 34.66%. Whereas, Tier-I and Tier-II cities recorded a figure of 30.14% and 18.54%, respectively. In the report, more than 58.64% of males and 41.36% of females opted for Web Development and Python courses through e-learning mediums in the past year.

As per the report, INR 50,000 and INR 7,200 was the highest and average monthly stipend, respectively, that was offered to the students who successfully completed the Web Development and Python courses and then landed an internship. Also, 5% of students enrolled in the Internshala Trainings from the last year were hired. Taking into consideration the data of the last two years, 15% of students got job opportunities upon the completion of the courses.

Shadab Alam, Head – of Internshala Trainings, said, “The e-learning model has facilitated smart and easy ways for students to acquire in-demand skill sets. The report highlights that courses like Web Development and Python have gained prominence in the last few years as their demand by companies to effectively run their businesses has increased, thus creating opportunities for the students to get jobs equipped with the knowledge of the required domain.”

He further added, that, “The Web Development and Python courses at Internshala are beginners friendly, allowing students from any educational background to take up the courses and add new expertise to their resume.”

Upon successful completion of the Web Development and the Python courses, the students got offered job opportunities in various companies like Perfectice Eduventure Limited, 1stMentor, United Nations Volunteer, Akaaro, Team Everest, Tare Zameen Foundation, BloodConnect, E Cell – FMS Delhi, BBC India News, Delhi Technological University – TATVA, The Entrepreneurship Cell, and IIT Bombay to name a few.

Also, the students who took the Web Development and Python courses shared their experiences on how the respective programs helped them to secure jobs. Listed below are some of the valuable experiences received as a part of the Internshala training program.

Ansh Singh took the Programming with Python training, said, “In the starting days of training, I was quite confident because I knew I was learning from a trusted and verified site. It helped me so much in upskilling myself and increasing my knowledge. I’m now reputed in my college because I was the only guy with the training certificate and knowledge in the whole batch. Many students, teachers, and even my HOD also came to ask me how I did it and what the advantages were, etc. Also, because of Programming with Python training, I’ve scored good marks in this field, and I’m doing 3 projects with the application of Python. It was a great experience for my career.”

Nitu Kumari joined the Web development training program and found it very enriching to gain a new skill. As a part of her experience, she said, “I took a web development course in 3rd year of my engineering degree. The instructor explained concepts using proper examples and implementation. After this course, I worked as a MERN stack developer. The course helped me get my first Internship at a well-known start-up in just a month, and I also got the job before even completing my internship. The courses are well structured, easy to understand, and helped me land my first job. I am thankful to the founder of Internshala, Sarvesh Agarwal, for building such a good platform.”

Delhi/ Mumbai, February 22, 2023: Crayons Advertising Limited, India’s leading homegrown integrated advertising agency, today announced its plans to double its revenues in the next three years, mainly riding on digital and events verticals.

Promoted by the Indian ad veteran Kunal Lalani, Caryons Advertising has demonstrated presence as an integrated and innovative advertising agency for over three and half decades. The company has recently filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with NSE Emerge for initial public offering (IPO). Upon listing, Crayons will be India’s first major homegrown advertising agency to go public.

“In the past few years, we have consistently invested in our capabilities – comprising of people, processes, partners and performance”, said Kunal Lalani, Founder & Managing Director, Crayons Advertising. “Today, we are aiming for an orbital shift, given our integrated proposition, the strong economic tailwinds for the advertising sector and sustained mandate flow in our digital and events verticals. We are raising funds to build further our digital capabilities, which will enable us to not only cater to the brands in Bharat, but also offer our new-age tech-led solutions to the world going forward”, added Kunal.

Strong macros aiding industry optimism

The Indian advertising market was valued at nearly INR 670 billion in 2020. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11% from 2022-2027 to reach INR 1253.2 billion by 2026. Infrastructure, banking & financial services (including fintechs), tourism, Government departments & the MSME and large home-grown players are expected to command a larger share of ad budgets. The demand for integrated players with a deep understanding of Bharat will dominate the agency selection going forward.

Investing in quality people

Crayons continued to strengthen its leadership team with appointments of marquee professionals. Recently, Faisal Haq joined the company as its Chief Operating Officer industry veterans Manoj Jacob and Anurag Mishra were inducted as the Executive Creative Director and Sr. Creative Director, respectively.

“In the business of creativity and innovation, the quality of people is the core differentiator. We at Crayons have always believed in building teams by investing in credible leaders, which has enabled us to build our reputation as a respected creative partner to global brands. With timely investments in our capabilities backed by robust brand equity, we are now expanding our leadership team,” said Kunal.

Faisal Haq is the new COO of the agency. His forte lies in exploring potential business avenues and managing operations to achieve business targets focusing on top-line and bottom-line profitability. An industry veteran with over 25 years of experience working across agencies and brands, Faisal has delivered several award-winning works across social & digital media. A celebrated professional, Faisal was also declared COO of the Year ’22-’23 by the Indian Achiever’s Forum. Before Crayons, Faisal worked with WATConsult-Dentsu Creative.

Manoj Jacob joins as Executive Creative Director and commands over 20 years of experience working across agencies like Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, Havas, BBDO, and Contract Advertising. He has helped build several brands such as Peter England, IBM, Lenovo, Himalaya Wellness, Louis Phillipe, Diageo, Exxon Mobil, GE, UNICEF, Fosters, Reckitt, etc. Manoj’s work has won him two Cannes Lions. Other commendable accolades include an Adfest Lotus, One Show Merit, Media Spikes, and a Clio for ‘Best Writing in Print’.

Anurag Mishra joins the Agency’s creative arsenal as Sr. Creative Director. He commands a decade of experience, working with marquee agencies such as JVM, Ogilvy, Serviceplan, Innocean Worldwide and McCann across Europe and Asia. He has also bagged multiple prestigious awards, including Cannes, D&AD, Clios and ADC. Anurag captained creatives during the relaunch of the iconic Hyundai Santro in Indian markets. In addition, he also helped establish Cadbury Choco Bakes Cookies ‘meetha chhupa rustom’ campaign, followed by a digital campaign – Cadbury Choco Bakes Cookie Eclipse.

Bagged Marquee accounts

Recently, the company announced that it won marquee mandates, including TATASons, National Skill Development Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, TATA Croma and Bank Of Baroda. The mandate of the National Skill Development Corporation is to transform the brand notion and strengthen the connection with youth. The agency’s experience in handling government businesses played a vital role in the final selection for taking over its social media mandate.

Within the TATA Group Companies, Crayons recently bagged the social media mandate for TataSons. In the last couple of years, the agency has handled and executed multiple prestigious campaigns for the Tata Group. Crayons also worked on the Tata Mumbai Marathon campaign, which serves as a case study in awareness and engagement. Furthermore, in the past year, Crayons Advertising was appointed by TATA to launch the historic Air India transition campaign ‘Wings of Change’ and handle TATA Croma’s creative mandate.

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The launch of Sanchiconnect’s ten-city deeptech roadshow is a watershed moment for India’s early stage deep tech founders. This is the first ever deep tech meetup series, with the goal of bringing perspectives, conversations, and sentiments from venture funds investing in this space.

Kochi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi-NCR, Indore, and Hyderabad will be included in the first phase of the roadshow. The schedule for these meetups has already begun to reach the audience’s inbox.

According to Dr. Sunil Shekhawat (CEO of Sanchiconnect), the emergence of deep tech startups in recent years has not gone unnoticed. He believes that such an initiative will enable early-stage founders to become more aware of the opportunities available in this field, as well as gain access to resources that will help them achieve their goals more quickly. This is phase 1, and phase 2 will only focus on tier 2 cities in the next roadshow, which will be scheduled within 100 days.

Sanchiconnect is a platform that connects entrepreneurs with deep tech-focused but stage and sector-agnostic funds. During each meetup session, the organisation will deploy resources to develop customized programmes for each city based on the local startup ecosystem, as well as provide networking opportunities for founders and investors alike.

This initiative gives founders an excellent opportunity to discuss their initial work and progress with prospective investors and industry veterans. This roadshow series provides an exciting platform for startups to scale up quickly, with the goal of enabling innovation across sectors through technology-led solutions.

22nd February 2023: Arth – A Culture Fest, one of India’s leading cultural festivals, has announced a beautiful collaboration with the Rekhta Foundation. The collaboration aims to bring together an initiative that share a common goal of celebrating India’s rich poetic heritage and promoting the magic of Hindi poetry and language at large!

To celebrate this union and also the beauty of Hindi poetry, Arth – A Culture Fest and the Rekhta Foundation will come together to host the Hindwi Kavita Sandhya. Scheduled to take place on the evening of 24th of February at Sunder Nursery, this Kavi Sammelan session promises to be an evening to remember where eminent poets like Anamika, Ashok Vajpeyi, Badri Narayan, Dinesh Kushwaha, and Manav Kaul will recite their popular poems.

“Hindi forms a connecting link between the diverse languages and cultures inhabiting the vast land of India and we hope to share this heritage with a vast populace through Hindwi Kavita Sandhya at Arth Festival.” said Mr. Sanjiv Saraf, Founder of Rekhta Foundation. “Inspired by the enormous love and support received for our work on Urdu literature. The foundation has now streamlined its efforts towards preserving and promoting Hindi literature and culture through our initiative “Hindwi.org”. He added

“Creation of meaning has always been a joint endeavour in our culture – sahriday reader or rasagya shrota play with multiple dhwanis of the text and create a sufiana silsila of never ending Meaning. They are all thus the co-creators of texts. Being a part of Arth – A cultural fest is a wonderful opportunity for artists like us to share the beauty of poetry and its rich heritage. Joining hands with Rekhta has been an enriching experience for all of us. Rekhta has worked wonders in creating subliminal bridges across cultures,” said Anamika, Poet, Social Worker, and Novelist

Manav Kaul, Actor, Writer, and Theatre Director said, “Arth – A Culture Fest is a wonderful platform that celebrates the diversity of art and culture in all its forms. As an actor and writer, I feel privileged to be a part of this festival that gives artists from different genres a platform to showcase their works. I am also glad to see the collaboration between Arth and Rekhta Foundation, which shares the same vision of promoting and preserving our rich cultural heritage.”

A Zee Live Spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Rekhta Foundation for Arth – A Culture Fest, as their commitment to promoting the rich literary and cultural heritage perfectly aligns with our vision for this festival. Together, we hope to create an unforgettable experience that celebrates the diverse artistic traditions of our region. With this edition of Arth, our aim is to deliver an immersive cultural experience that showcases the beauty and diversity of our language and traditions.”

The collaboration between Arth – A Culture Fest and Rekhta Foundation promises to be a celebration of India’s diverse cultural heritage and a platform for promoting inclusivity and diversity. The festival is expected to attract a wide audience from across India and beyond and promises to be an enlightening and enriching experience for all.

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Mumbai, 22nd February 2023: TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, India’s largest privately owned Degree Apprenticeship program from the house of TeamLease Services Limited, has announced its partnership with Swiss-based Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN Global), to scale the adoption of degree apprenticeships/work-based learning in India. With this partnership, TeamLease and GAN aims to scale degree apprenticeship adoption in the country. The association is built on the premise of the prowess of apprenticeships to address employability gaps and create a robust pipeline of skilled talent for the industry.

The sentiment around apprentice deployment has significantly improved over the past few years. A H2 2022 study indicated that close to 77% of employers were keen to increase their apprentice pool. In fact, over the last three years, employer intent towards deploying apprentices has increased by 6% y-o-y. Both traditional sectors and new age sectors are becoming more receptive towards the model. While this demonstrates the growing acceptance of degree apprenticeships and work-based learning in India, the growth is subdued and allied partnerships like TLDA and GAN will help scale the model.

Sharing her views, Ms. Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder and Executive Director, TeamLease Services said, “India has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with about 13 million youth joining the workforce every year. However, only 1 in 5 engineering students, 1 in 10 graduates and 1 in 4 management professionals are truly employable. Work based learning and degree apprenticeships have emerged as the most powerful instrument to bridge this gap. On the job learning is enabling candidates to have better domain skills and their industry experience makes them more employable. While there are many efforts taken towards promoting work-based learning, including the recent announcements during the Union Budget, more cohesive efforts are required. Our partnership with GAN Global, a network that shares our vision of creating an inclusive and skilled workforce, through apprenticeships, is a step in that direction. It will help us to boost the adoption of degree apprenticeship in India, bridge the gap between education and skilling, and empower the youth with the right domain skills and industry knowledge, leveraging their global experience.”

“Our mission is to achieve employment for all worldwide, and we believe that Indian youth is a significant quadrant in the ecosystem. Apprenticeship programs are one of the most powerful solutions to bridge the skill gap and increase employability of the youth cohort. It is beneficial for the candidates as well as employers, which prepares the apprentices for a long term employment. This partnership represents a significant opportunity to drive positive change in the Indian workforce and create a brighter future for all”, added Nazrene Mannie, Executive Director, GAN Global.

With the aspiration to scale up to 10 million apprentices in 10 years, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship is paving the way for the next generation to continually equip them with the required skillsets and help them get into the workforce. This partnership will not only help in creating a skilled workforce but will also contribute to the economic growth of the country, and enhance the employability of the youth.

Bangalore – ASK Finance, the NBFC vertical of ASK Group has closed a debt transaction of Rs. 40 Cr. with Sowparnika Projects & Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, a reputed real estate brand in the affordable housing segment. Mr. Maneesh Yadav, CEO & MD, of ASK Finance said, “Working capital for affordable homes in economic growth corridors by reputable developers who have a good delivery track record is key to our strategy considering huge demand in this segment and supportive government initiatives for affordable homes.”

The investment has been made in Sowparnika Ashiyana, a mid-income affordable project near Whitefield, Bangalore with 750 + homes. Sowparnika has a proven track record of developing & delivering affordable homes in Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore & several locations across Kerala for nearly 2 decades now.

The Sowparnika group has developed over 5.2 Mn sft & handed over 7500 homes across these locations. ASK group is known for its strong research-based investments, asset management, a real estate private equity funds, wealth advisory, and multi-family office businesses. The Group has over US$ 9.3 bn of Assets Under Management as of 31st December 2022.

Sowparnika Projects & Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd’s MD, Mr. Ramji Subramaniam, stated that their company remains committed to the affordable housing segment. They have recently launched two new projects in Hoskote and Sarjapur, both of which have garnered significant interest from prospective homebuyers. Mr. Subramaniam expressed his confidence in the company’s philosophy, as evidenced by its partnership with ASK Finance, and looks forward to forging similar partnerships in future developments.

INDIA – Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), will steadily resume flights to and from China to accommodate strong travel demands in line with the further relaxation of border restrictions. Scoot will also be ramping up flight frequencies across its network, particularly to destinations that are popular for summer travels in Australia, Greece, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.

Since travel restrictions were lifted globally in 2022, Scoot has resumed most of its pre-Covid routes, increased flight frequencies to ensure its capacity matches demand and expanded its network with the launch of new destinations such as Jeju, Lombok, Makassar, Miri and Yogyakarta.

China

From now until the end of Northern Winter 2022 (25 March 2023), Scoot will progressively increase its total flights to China from 14-times weekly to 26-times weekly by stepping up flight frequencies to seven of its existing points, comprising Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Tianjin and Zhengzhou.

The pace of resumption continues into the Northern Summer period, which spans 26 March to 28 October 2023. Scoot will resume flights to Haikou, Ningbo, and Xi’an in April 2023, bringing the total number of weekly flights to China to 42 times weekly by the end of April 2023.

With services to Nanning and Shenyang resuming in May 2023, customers can look forward to 57 times weekly flights to China by the end of June 2023.

Other Network Updates

Scoot will increase flight frequencies to travelers’ favorite warm-weather destinations, just in time for customers to plan their summer travels. Flight frequencies to Athens will increase from two times to four-times weekly, flight frequencies to Perth will increase from 10-times to 12-times weekly, flight frequencies to Sapporo through Taipei will increase from three times to four times weekly and flight frequencies to Tokyo through Taipei will increase from 10-times to 12-times weekly. Closer to Singapore, flight frequencies to Langkawi will increase from four times to seven-times weekly and flight frequencies to Manado will increase from three times to four times weekly.

Some adjustments will be made to optimize resources and accommodate other operational considerations. In particular, Scoot services to the Gold Coast will be suspended after 17 July 2023 (last flight out of the Gold Coast). Customers with existing bookings will be notified of their options.

New Schedules for Pokémon Air Adventures Flights

Pokémon Air Adventures, a partnership with The Pokémon Company, continues to be well sought-after by Pokémon fans and others looking for unique experiences. In February 2023, Scoot launched these inaugural themed flights on the Pikachu Jet to Bangkok. In March 2023, the Pikachu Jet will make its way to Taiwan. Customers can choose from eight scheduled flights in March 2023 and six scheduled flights in April 2023. For more information on the Pikachu Jet schedule, please refer to Scoot’s website.

Scoot Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Leslie Thng, said, “Scoot has been anticipating the return of travel to and from China and we will scale up operations to meet the demand from this sizeable market. We will also ramp up frequencies to other popular summer destinations as customers continue to seek travel to connect with loved ones, explore new cultures and create new experiences. This year, we aspire to continue redefining value travel by providing our customers with safe and seamless travel journeys, quality service, differentiated products and experiences at affordable fares.”

By Dr. Deepak Jain, Founder, The Fragrance People

As the job market continues to evolve, it can be challenging for fresh graduates to find their footing in the workforce. While the traditional corporate ladder may not hold the same appeal as it once did, startups offer a range of exciting career opportunities for young professionals. Here are some of the most promising careers for fresh graduates to consider in the startup world in 2023 and 2024:

Marketing and Communications

Marketing and communications are crucial for startups, especially in their early stages when they are trying to build brand awareness and attract new customers. Fresh graduates with strong writing, graphic design, and social media skills can thrive in this field, especially if they have experience in content creation and data analysis. To stand out in the job market, consider taking courses in marketing and communications, or working in a related field to gain experience.

Sales and Business Development

Startups often rely on their sales and business development teams to bring in new customers and grow their business. Fresh graduates with strong interpersonal skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a solid understanding of the market can excel in these roles. To stand out in the competitive job market, consider taking courses in sales and marketing, or working in a related field to gain experience.

Data Analyst

Data analysis has become a critical component in almost every industry, and startups are no exception. With the growing need for companies to make data-driven decisions, data analysts are in high demand. Fresh graduates with a background in mathematics, statistics, or computer science can thrive in this field, especially if they have experience with data visualization and programming languages such as Python and R.

Software Developer

Software development remains a highly sought-after skill in the startup world, with new technologies and platforms emerging all the time. Fresh graduates with experience in one or more programming languages, such as Java, C++, or JavaScript, can find opportunities in both front-end and back-end development. A solid understanding of software architecture and experience with agile methodologies can also help young professionals stand out in the job market.

Product Manager

Product managers play a key role in the success of a startup by defining and executing the product roadmap. Fresh graduates with a background in business, marketing, or engineering can excel in this field, especially if they have experience working with cross-functional teams and strong project management skills. To build your skills, consider taking courses in product management, participating in hackathons, or working on personal projects.

In conclusion, startups offer a wealth of opportunities for fresh graduates, and the careers outlined above are some of the most promising for the next year or two. To find success in the startup world, consider building your skills and experience in your area of interest, and be open to learning and growth. With the right mindset and approach, fresh graduates can make a real impact and pave the way for a successful career in the exciting and fast-paced world of startups.