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Paytm signs MoU with Government of Andhra Pradesh at Global Investors Summit 2023, to drive initiatives in Financial Inclusion, Public Health, Cyber Security

One97 Communications Limited (OCL) which owns the brand Paytm, India’s leading payments and financial services company and the pioneer of QR and mobile payments, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) on the sidelines of the Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023. The agreement aims to promote mutual cooperation in the areas of Industrial Development,

Financial Inclusion, Public Health, Cyber Security and Prevention of Financial Frauds in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Shri Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Shri Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of Paytm. Under the MoU and in alignment with its mission of bringing half a billion Indians into the mainstream economy, Paytm plans to empower merchants, street vendors, and ChiruVyaparulu (street hawkers) in Andhra Pradesh to accept digital payments and provide them access to loans through its lending partners. Paytm plans to extend its platform to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for providing eGovernment services, which will be conveniently accessible to all Paytm Super App users. Additionally, Paytm plans to empower various GoAP departments to accept digital payments from citizens and businesses, thereby enhancing service delivery for
the people of Andhra Pradesh. The company proposed to also enable the digitization of toll plazas across the state to accept payments digitally.

In the area of Public Health, Paytm proposed to collaborate with the State Health Authority in facilitating seamless OPD appointment booking at government and private hospitals under the forthcoming Unified Health Interface (UHI) programme. As part of its commitment to promote safe and secure digital payments, Paytm plans to be conducting cybersecurity training for Andhra Pradesh police personnel and launch a joint campaign to raise awareness of cybersecurity best practices among citizens, particularly those residing in non-urban areas.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm said, “We are happy to partner with the Government of Andhra Pradesh in their journey of sustainable development through inclusive growth. We are fully committed to driving Financial Inclusion at the last mile and this partnership is a step in that direction. We will continue to empower the people of Andhra Pradesh by enabling lakhs of small businesses with mobile payments and access to various financial services.”  with financial institutions.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance unveils its new campaign #IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi

Bangalore, March 07, 2023: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), has unveiled the #IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi campaign to showcase its recently launched “industry-first” product, ABSLI Nishchit Aayush Plan, a non-linked non-participating individual savings life insurance plan, that provides guaranteed income from the 1st policy anniversary (month/year).

#IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi campaign intends to spread awareness among the viewers while ensuring that it puts a smile on their faces. The integrated campaign communicating this plan is captured through a series of scenarios wherein the protagonists find themselves stuck in unfavourable circumstances like being kidnapped or stuck in a lift. As the film progresses, ABSLI’s advisors find their way to meet the protagonists and humorously inform them about the Nishchit Aayush Plan and its benefits.

Speaking on this initiative, Mr Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, said, “At ABSLI, our focus is to help our customers with cutting-edge life insurance solutions that provide guaranteed income that too, immediately. It is an excellent investment opportunity that offers an optimal blend of protection and growth, providing peace of mind for you and your family.

The #IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi campaign perfectly aligns to ABSLI’s vision of revolutionising the way guaranteed savings income plan category operates and the blend of awareness and humour will spread a positive message by instilling inquisitiveness about newer & better investment avenues in the minds of viewers.”

Ms Darshana Shah, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience, Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. said, “Our approach to ABSLI’s new campaign #IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi is based on simple philosophy of capturing people’s attention by describing the product’s USP (guaranteed income from the 1st policy anniversary (month/year) in an engaging manner. Our new product, Nishchit Aayush Plan will empower the policyholders to leverage guaranteed savings product by decreasing the propensity for risk in their portfolio.”

At the heart of their thinking, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) believes that the product sells itself, however, #IsseZarooriKuchBhiNahi campaign intends to tell the truth interestingly. ABSLI reckons that its recently launched product will revolutionise the industry by transcending the “long term savings” approach of life insurance products & providing upfront guaranteed returns from the 1st policy anniversary (month/year)

aha recognized as ‘Best Entertainment App’ at IAMAI India Digital Awards, reinforcing its position in the regional market

India, 07th March 2023: In another landmark achievement, aha, one of India’s leading regional OTT, has won the Internet & Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI) India Digital Awards 2023 ‘Best Entertainment App’ Award under the category Best Mobile & App Awards. The awards recognize the best in India’s digital ecosystem, including individuals, companies, and innovations.

Considered the fastest-growing local app, aha, in three years since its inception in 2020, has scaled to 9 million monthly active users, 2 million plus active subscribers, overseas subscribers of over 100k and 32 million app downloads. It is the only app providing 100% local content in Telugu and Tamil, respectively, which includes new content every Friday, first-of-its-kind originals, movies, talk shows, reality shows, games and live news.

aha, endorsed by celebrities Allu Arjun and Vijay Devarakonda, is seen as the most preferred Telugu OTT service, according to industry surveys. It’s also being talked about for its user-friendly features as an app and its unique distribution strategy, which ensures that everyone has access to its original local content through a wide range of channels – from local cable networks to grocery stores in public areas.

The endeavor to make the app the best source for regional entertainment continues. The brand recently announced its plans to invest Rs 1000 crore to expand it into new languages and genres. aha’s promoter, Mr Ramu Rao Jupally, and CEO, Mr Ajit Thakur, also reinforced their commitment to making the OTT service channel a super app in the next three years.

Happy with aha’s latest feat at the digital awards, Mr Ramu Rao Jupally, Promoter of aha said, “We are immensely proud of this recognition, which acknowledges our efforts to contribute to the Indian digital ecosystem through the entertainment sector. aha began with a need to provide new-age entertainment content in Telugu, and today it is synonymous with delivering 100% local content in Telugu and Tamil. We look forward to strengthening this position by bridging the OTT regional content gap across all languages in the next three years.”

Mr. Ajit Thakur, CEO of aha added, “We are thrilled to have received the ‘Best Entertainment App’ award at IAMAI’s India Digital Awards, and it’s an honor to be recognized for our efforts. It further validates the success of aha, given its recent trail of achievements as an OTT service provider of 100% local entertainment. We are committed to further transforming this experience by making it a super app in the next three years with content beyond films and original series; it includes interactive content, gaming and tapping into the hybrid model, which is the future of the streaming platforms.”

aha has, in the past, been awarded the Regional Platform of the Year and Game Changer of the Year at Economic Times SPOTT Awards -2022. One of its talk shows, Unstoppable with NBK, has also been rated No 1 on IMDB and had more than a billion minutes of streaming. The OTT service provider has started working on its plans to launch in Malayalam and Kannada.

Krank appoints Giles Metcalfe as Chief Operating Officer

As COO at Krank, Metcalfe will lead and scale business operations and go-to-market activities to deliver on Krank’s exciting business roadmap and expansion plans.

Metcalfe began his career in institutional sales at Legal & General Investment Management. This was followed by strategy, business growth and operations roles at various B2B technology and startup companies, most recently rising to a COO role at the fintech start-up Cobalt. At his time at Cobalt, Metcalfe was pivotal in raising major institutional investment and signing global clients, including Citi and Deutsche Bank. He joins Krank following the company’s transformative deals with US rental giant Maxim Crane and technology company Liebherr, where the unique Krank platform will underpin a large proportion of the companies’ used equipment disposals.

Giles Metcalfe, Chief Operating Officer at Krank.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Krank at such a formative and fast-moving time for Krank’s unique business model,” Metcalfe said of his appointment. CEO and founder of Krank Mark Turner meanwhile, says: “Giles is a very welcome addition to the team – with his experience in growing technology businesses, I am confident he will make a very strong contribution in driving Krank’s rapid expansion.”

From upstart to start up

Metcalfe’s career to date has been marked by his entrepreneurial spirit and lateral thinking – having ran and sold a business by the age of 18 and receiving national newspaper coverage during the financial crisis for his innovative approach to securing his first job in London’s financial district. (Metcalfe stood with a banner and handed out CVs in Broadgate Circle, London – resulting in over 25 interviews in the following weeks.)

India celebrates women’s cricket with a billion plays on Reels from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

Chennai, March 07, 2023: Ahead of International Women’s Day, we are sharing insights about the way India celebrated the players and teams at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. Smriti Mandhana was one the most popular players and India vs. Pakistan match was one of the most popular matches on Instagram, with over a billion plays on Instagram Reels throughout the tournament from India.

Instagram is a place where people can connect, build community and follow the things they love – and Reels is a great way to do that. Cricket is a popular youth interest in India, so the robust conversation and engagement on Instagram during the event was unsurprising. More than 150,000 Reels, with over 140 million engagements related to the matches have been created about the tournament from its start on February 10th to its end on February 26th.

Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President, Facebook India (Meta), said, “We’re excited that our platforms are the home where people can express themselves and support each other. In context to International Women’s Day, that’s very important because we believe in empowering women – whether you’re a consumer, a creator, a business owner, a sportsperson or a fan. We’re happy to see an entire nation backing women in a sport traditionally dominated by men, and that we’ve been able to play a small role in it.”

While a lot of the action was posted from the @icc, @t20worldcup and the cricketers’ Instagram accounts, a squad of content creators were also sent to the host nation, South Africa, to cover the tournament. These creators – Rida Tharana, Saloni Gaur and RJ Kisna – shared reels from a spectator’s lens and collaborated with various teams to create content in a fun way for their audience. You can follow #ReelsSquadIndia hashtag to see more.

Insights from ICC Women’s T20 World Cup:

Some of the most talked about players:

• Smriti Mandhana
• Harmanpreet Kaur
• Ellyse Perry
• Richa Ghosh
• Jemimah Rodrigues

Some of the most talked about teams:

• India
• Australia
• Pakistan
• England
• South Africa

Some of the most talked about matches:

• IndvsPak
• AusvsInd
• EngvsIndIndvsIre
• WivsInd

Some of the most popular hashtags: (apart from matches)

• #t20worldcup
• #Womencricket
• #womeninblue

OpenSesame Technology Inc, Japan and Plural Technology, India entered MoU to access each other’s technical capabilities, capacity to deliver worldwide jointly

Hyderabad, March 07, 2023….Plural Technology Private Limited, a global enterprise software services firm based out of Hyderabad India and Open Sesame Technology Inc, an advanced technology services firm, headquartered in Nagoya, Japan, entered into a partnership agreement recently in Japan

The MoU was signed by Mr. Shinobu Morioka Chairman & Managing Director of Open Sesame Technology Inc., Mr. Nitin Baraskar – Co-founder, Mr. Bhanu Prakash Reddy Varla – Director from Plural Technology Pvt Ltd and exchanged the agreements.

Bhanu Varla, led a delegation recently to Nagoya city in Japan. The Japanese delegation is also expected to visit Hyderabad in April, 2023.

“The partnership is to multiply business growth by leveraging each other’s capabilities and customer reach” adds, Mr. Sunil Savaram, CEO, Plural Technology Pvt Ltd.

This partnership agreement allows both the companies to access each other’s technical capabilities, capacity to acquire new business and deliver jointly, worldwide. With this partnership, Open Sesame Technology Inc., also plans to leverage software development operations of Plural Technology Pvt Ltd in India, for backend technology development and support services. Plural Technology Pvt Ltd, serves clients from Automotive, Aerospace, Defence, Medical Devices, Consumer Electronics, Semi-Conductor Devices and Retail industries with a specialization in Product Lifecycle Management solutions. Open Sesame Technology Inc. specializes in modern technology development including AI and ML with proven solutions built for Intelligent Traffic management.

Open Sesame Technology Inc.’s, previous attemptsto leverage an offshore partner in China and Vietnam to grow globally didn’t work out well, during the last 25 years.

“We found a right partner in Plural Technology Pvt Ltd, with matching goals and vision”, said Mr. Shinobu Morioka, Chairman & Managing Director in a joint statement issued in Japan and India today.

Mr. Sunil Savaram, further adds “Our roadmaps are so identical, that it makes a great sense to go on this journey together, for both the businesses”.

By the end of 2025, both companies Open Sesame Technology and Plural Technology Pvt Ltd, together would like to combinedly generate a business of $100 Mn in enterprise technology services and products sales.

Today both Companies employ about 500 employees together. Over next 3 years, Plural Technology would like to add another 1000 technology consultants, about 500 of them also trained in Japanese language. This is a first attempt by any Indian Technology services firm to have a Japanese focused collaboration at this scale.

Plural Technology is working on strategic partnerships with Japanese Language Training Institutes to be able to produce about 500 technology consultants who can also communicate in Japanese.

“Both companies have been serving some of the Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 customers already and would now like to win Mid-market business segment too with this partnership” said Mr. Ajay Patel, Director, Plural Technology Pvt Ltd.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar Jammula – AI specialist, Mr. Hattori Takashi – Technical Head from Open Sesame Technology Inc. were also present at MoU signing

“The friendship between India and Japan is very old and has 70 plus years of close diplomatic relations. The relationship is deep-rooted in centuries-old spiritual affinity and cultural and civilisational ties. The two countries have a shared vision. The pact between two countries will mutually benefit” added Mr Bhanu Varla.

Hero Motocorp Ups the Technology Quotient With New-age Super Splendor 125cc

Bengaluru, March 07, 2023: Further strengthening its highly popular XTEC portfolio to offer a stylish, exciting and cutting-edge range to its customers, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, today launched the Super Splendor XTEC. Riding on the trust of the iconic Splendor family, this is the latest addition in the company’s comprehensive range of products in the 125cc segment.

Appealing to the ever-evolving requirements of youngsters, the new motorcycle packs a SUPER punch with its style, connectivity and convenience features. Already loaded with SUPER Power, SUPER Mileage and SUPER comfort, the new variant now elevates the tech-play.

The All-New Super Splendor XTEC comes loaded with features, such as Full Digital Speedometer with Low Fuel Indicator, Service Reminder and Malfunction Indicator. Bluetooth Connectivity with Call and SMS alerts adds to the convenience. The uniquely styled LED Headlamp with High Intensity Position Lamp, and new dual tone stripes enhance the overall look of the motorcycle. The mileage of 68 Km/l makes Super Splendor XTEC a perfect performer.

Launched in two variants, the Super Splendor XTEC is available at Hero MotoCorp dealerships across the country at Rs. 83, 368 (Drum Variant) * & Rs. 87, 268 (Disc Variant) *

*(Ex-Showroom, Delhi).

Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Growth Officer (CGO), Hero MotoCorp, said, “Hero MotoCorp has brought the finest range of cutting-edge, technologically advanced XTEC products in its portfolio of motorcycle and scooters and has created a distinct place for itself among riding enthusiasts in the country. And, with the introduction of the Super Splendor in XTEC avatar, we aim to redefine the experience in the 125cc segment. We are confident that the iconic Super Splendor in its new version is going to add to the growing appeal of our XTEC range of two-wheelers. With this product, we are presenting a whole package to our customers, that scores on connectivity, convenience and design.”

Quantum Announces Partnership with WaitTime for Real-Time Crowd Intelligence Using AI software and Video Surveillance Data

Bangalore, India: March 7, 2023 – Quantum Corporation (NASDAQ: QMCO), the leader in solutions for video and unstructured data, today announced a partnership with WaitTime, the industry leader in crowd intelligence analytics, to deliver a certified solution that provides real-time crowd intelligence using video surveillance data captured and stored by Quantum’s Unified Surveillance Platform (USP). Quantum certified WaitTime AI software to run effectively on USP and offer easy deployment to organizations that want to maximize the value of their video surveillance data, like extracting crowd intelligence insights intended to deliver a better customer experience.

Quantum’s Unified Surveillance Platform is a unified compute and storage platform that is highly resilient and designed to retain data even if hardware fails. It is capable of scaling to handle tens of thousands of cameras. USP has the added advantage of being able to manage and run multiple physical security applications on a single infrastructure, including analytics applications like WaitTime. The combined USP and WaitTime solution uses data produced by video surveillance cameras to analyze queues in venues such as stadiums, malls, airports, and more.

WaitTime’s AI software provides real-time data and historical analytics on crowd behavior. Their patented artificial intelligence gives operations personnel live information on crowd movement and density while providing guests with information they need to navigate a venue and get information on things like queue times at concession stands to ensure they have the best guest experience possible. End users can access this information direction from the venue’s general customer app.

USP can manage and run multiple physical security applications on one single unified infrastructure, including analytics applications like WaitTime.

“Video surveillance data is increasingly being used for business operations and value in addition to security and loss prevention,” says Choon-Seng Tan, general manager, Video Surveillance, Quantum. “This certified solution with WaitTime AI software gives these facilities a way to provide a better guest experience, while Quantum enables them to simplify their recording and analytics infrastructure and reduce operational costs by consolidating multiple individual servers—like NVRs– onto a single, unified compute and storage platform.”

“WaitTime continues to evolve our AI solution every day with new features and increased accuracy. It’s critical that the infrastructure supporting our application is resilient, high-performance, and scalable to ensure the best customer experience. Quantum’s USP software was built to manage multiple physical security applications simultaneously, including the requirements of an AI analytics app like WaitTime. This combined solution is designed to be easy to deploy and give organizations increased visibility within the operations of their venue while providing additional value to end users,” says Zack Klima, founder and CEO, WaitTime.

On International Women’s Day, DS Group’s new initiative lauds the contribution of female farmers

New Delhi, 7th March 2023: Ahead of International Women’s Day, DS Group, a multi-business corporation and one of the leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) conglomerates today announced the launch of a new initiative titled #SaluteTheFarmHER, which aims to highlight the contribution of female farmers in agriculture. With this, the Group takes a small step towards attaining due recognition for them.

India is an agrarian economy where about 54.6 percent of the total workforce is engaged in agricultural and allied sector activities. While farming is perceived to be a male activity, agriculture employs about 80 percent of rural women, as per the Niti Ayog. Yet, there is a lack of their recognition. The Group identified the need to sensitize the audience, create awareness, empower, and at the same time applaud the rural women workforce for their efforts.

Conceptualized by Grapes, the execution began by releasing a video to bring this gap to the general audience’s attention. It showed that when kids were asked to draw a farmer, most of them conjured up the image of a male. To change this perception, the Group intends to approach leading media houses, agricultural bloggers, and stock footage portals to make a small change that is to include images of both male and female farmers while covering relevant news.

Talking about the initiative, a spokesperson from DS Group said, “At DS Group, our CSR initiatives are designed on the principles that indigenous knowledge and skills of the local community are important towards sustainable development. We look at a holistic approach to add value, from creating awareness to implementation and ensuring sustainability. In the ‘New India’, rural women are leading the change in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. Empowering them can make way for a substantial leap towards the growth of the economy.”

Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Grapes spoke about the campaign, “Today, when all of us regularly turn to digital for all of our needs, wants, queries and much more, how something is represented in the online space has become all the more critical. The representation of female farmers, however, is severely lacking. And due recognition is quite necessary in order to garner opportunities for equitable growth. So, the #SaluteTheFarmHER is a small step in that direction with the hope of initiating larger change.”

The initiative marks the company’s ongoing efforts in this space. Through their farm-based livelihood projects, which incubate women cultivators, business owners, and skilled farm laborers, DS Group’s CSR activities have diligently worked towards improving the lives of 24,000 women farmers in 12 agrarian states till now.

Guided by a clear set of values and built on a strong foundation of collective good, Corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of the Group’s business objectives. The Group endeavours for the sustainable well-being of the stakeholder communities by addressing economic, environmental, and social issues and challenges.

Helios celebrates Women’s Day with #TimeIsChanging campaign

India, 7th March 2023: This International Women’s Day, Helios, the watch store celebrates ‘her’ with #TimeIsChanging. A thought-provoking, BTL campaign, Helios takes a bold step towards making women’s empowerment a more inclusive discussion.

Change always takes time, and society has been on a journey towards progress, from accepting women in the workforce to normalizing same-sex relationships. Gender inequality and discrimination have been a constant struggle, and one such change that is yet to evolve is the normalization of an open conversation about menstrual health and women’s issues.

Helios recognizes that menstrual hygiene is one of the crucial aspects of women’s health but it is often kept a secret. With the aim of shattering this taboo, Helios is giving every man who visits their stores, a menstrual cup, an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative for them to gift it to the woman in their life, start an open dialogue and make the change.

Speaking about the campaign, Mr. Ajay Dwivedi, Head Retail, Watches and Wearables, Titan Company Limited said “We at Helios believe that International Women’s Day is not just about celebrating women but also recognizing and normalizing conversations about their everyday concerns. We want to encourage men to break the silence, become active participants in these discussions, and contribute to accelerating the transition towards a more accepting society.”

Visit your nearest Helios store and join us in celebrating Women’s Day. Together, let us break free and make a positive change in the world.