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BBLUNT Salons, Bollywood’s most sought after hair destination brand Enters Kolkata

Kolkata, 28th February 2023 BBLUNT, Bollywood’s most preferred salon brand, is all set to make waves with the launch of 3 salons in the city of Kolkata housed in Hungerford Street, Alipore & Janak Road location.

The salons have been meticulously designed with luxurious hair stations, manicure & pedicure stations, beauty cum bridal rooms and hair treatment rooms leaving clients spoilt for choice.

BBLUNT will be accessible to more Kolkata residents with these new openings The high-end beauty and hair services offered by BBLUNT are performed by staff members that are experienced and certified globally. BBLUNT Salon, a one-stop shop for all Hair & beauty requirements, offers a clean, safe atmosphere for all styling and beauty requirements, as well as a friendly, attentive staff that will make your visit to the salon pleasurable and unforgettable.

Spoorthy Shetty, CEO, BBLUNT added, “Kolkata has always been special for us. We launched our first ever franchise salon here in 2020 and with the patronage received, we are now set to launch 3 company owned company operated salons across the city. We’re extremely thrilled to open doors to our loyalists as well as welcome new hair aficionados. At BBLUNT, it is our constant endeavour to provide the best service possible for our guests and expanding our network of salons allows us to reach more clients who have patiently aited for our presence in the city.”

Speaking on the launch occasion, Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Honasa Consumer Limited,said “We are thrilled with the opening of 3 new salons in Kolkata, bringing their passion for beauty and personalized services to the vibrant city. The salon industry in Kolkata has witnessed a significant growth in recent years, with an increasing number of people opting for specialised salons for grooming and selfcare. The opening of BBLUNT’s three new outlets in the city is a testament to this trend, and we believe it will further contribute to the industry’s growth by providing customers with a diverse range of high-quality services and experiences. BBLUNT’s team of experts is dedicated in providing a unique and luxurious experience that will leave the clients feeling confident and beautiful and it is another step in giving the community an access to the good life.”

In true BBLUNT aesthetics, the space boasts a beautiful design and décor –organic patterns in pink ascents in the salon area, The whole interior is planned, so as to retain maximum space with industrial and rustic ascents.

With the opening of these new outlets, the salon chain has reached a total of 22 outlets in India – seven of which are located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Guwahati, and Gurgaon.

Salon locations:
1) BBLUNT @ Hungerford St.
Ground Floor, 9, Hunger Ford St, near Circuit House, Elgin, Kolkata – 700017
T: +91-8422842476 | T:+91-8422842477
2) BBLUNT @ Alipore
Ground Floor, Konark Gardens , 6, Burdwan Road, Alipore, Kolkata – 700027
T: +91-8422842474 | T: +91-8422842475
3) BBLUNT @ Janak Road
Ground Floor 35A, Janak Road, Lake Market, Kalighat , Kolkata – 700029
T: +91-8422842470 | T: +91-8422842478

81% Surge in Demand for Green Jobs as India Inc. Invests in a Sustainable Future: foundit

Mumbai, 28 February 2023: found it (formerly Monster APAC & ME), one of India’s leading talent platforms, today published data on the demand for green jobs in India. India’s commitment to achieving a 500-gigawatt clean energy target by 2030 has led to an 81% annual increase in demand for green jobs in January 2023, with metropolitan cities leading the charge. Investments in the green sector have also proliferated compared to conventional fuel-based projects, enabling the creation of substantial jobs across the sector.

Moreover, a 64% month-on-month (MoM) growth was reflected in green job postings, with industries such as Industrial Products, Heavy machinery, and Waste Management hosting the maximum share in hiring demand. This marks an all-time high for green job postings on the foundit platform with both private and public sector companies integrating ESG practices as a central part of their business operations and transition to clean energy practices.

Commenting on green job trends, Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit (previously Monster, APAC & ME), said, “The Green revolution in India has been picking up the pace for the past year, and it is now heartening to see that green growth has been identified as one of the seven key priorities of this year’s Budget. With an allocation of INR 35,000 crores of priority capital investment towards achieving net zero by 2070, the commitment towards addressing climate change and building a sustainable future is evident. India’s solar and wind energy sectors are adding thousands of workers to new projects and will continue to create steady employment opportunities. However, the enormous demand for green roles is quickly outpacing the availability of skilled talent required in these fields. Hence, consistent and intelligent upskilling and development is crucial to create an efficient green workforce in the coming months.”

Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru reflect the enormous potential for green growth

According to foundit’s data, there has been a substantial increase in green job postings across metro cities. Delhi/NCR registered a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 289%, followed by Mumbai at 216% and Bengaluru at 174%. This surge can be attributed to the growing emphasis on creating a green economy in urban India, which has increased the demand for skilled talent in various sectors, including Corporate Services, Software, Education, and Construction. Individuals skilled in corporate social responsibility and sustainability are particularly in high demand. Furthermore, rapid urbanization has necessitated the need for specialized roles in addressing air quality, waste management, land degradation, and clean transport segments, among others.

Demand for Sustainability Managers on the rise

Among job roles, Sustainability Managers (26%) are highest in demand as companies across Construction and Manufacturing consciously try to account for the environmental impact of their activities. Other roles in demand include Environmental Consultants (11%), ESG analysts (17%), Safety Specialists (15%), and Design Engineers (9%). These emerging job are the outcome of the growing number of corporations in India recruiting a skilled workforce trained in climate action to facilitate technological shifts and structured financing mechanisms to finally achieve net-zero emissions.

Demand for Professionals in Auto Industry and Waste Management surged to an all-time high

Environmental Service and Waste Management industries experienced an astounding 1765% annual growth in hiring activity. This surge can be attributed to the growing consciousness among Indian companies to safeguard natural resources and ensure proper waste disposal. Moreover, increased emphasis on addressing the pressing issue of rapid urbanization in India has led to a significant increase in solid waste management initiatives.

The Automobile industry (307%) has also seen rise in demand for green professionals. With active measures being taken to cap transport emissions- such as designing sustainably, making better use of manufacturing resources, and sourcing ethically and responsibly- auto manufacturers are also investing heavily in Electric vehicles (EVs) reduce their environmental impact. Moreover, the EV market is gearing up to downsize vehicle emissions, making it one of the fastest-growing markets in the country.

Additionally, the demand for green professionals is high in Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Plastics, and rubber (220%) industries followed by FMCG (42%) and Construction (30%).

Upskilling remains a key priority as the green job demand outlook holds strong

With the Union Budget 2023 reaffirming India’s stance to combat climate change, it is clear that the green economy is bound to grow even further in the coming years. Considering this growth, newer job roles have also emerged in the last few years as industries tackle sustainability issues with innovative solutions. This brings about the urgent need to create a workforce adept in newer skills, many of which are related to technology. Hence, today’s workforce needs to upskill to meet the rising demand as organizations scout for skilled talent in AI, automation, IoT, and other emerging tech.

With the demand-supply crunch that exists in the market today, an expansive and inclusive curriculum that focuses on climate tech, green entrepreneurship, and sustainability holds the potential to build a productive green economy in India with sectors such as solar energy, electric mobility, and e-waste expected to create the most jobs in the future.

Period for the report

The period considered for the data is January’22 to January’23.

Pune’s residential sector witness 56% growth in Q4 2022: Report

According to a report by Cushman & Wakefield, in Q4 2022, Pune’s residential sector witnessed a rise of 68% on a q-o-q basis and a 56% growth on an annual basis. With 15,328 unit launches this quarter, Pune records a growth of 56% from 2021, a high for the quarter and the year.

Commenting about the performance, Mr. Ram Naik, Director, of The Guardians Real Estate Advisory said, “Pune has witnessed a decent performance in the fourth quarter in terms of residential sales. The city has seen a considerable number of new launches in the quarter with a reasonable decline in the unsold inventory. These are encouraging developments, which also give an insight into the constant demand for housing in the city. The festive season that falls in Q4, along with the reopening of the offices after the pandemic, has acted as a catalyst to boost property sales & launches in Pune. The affordability factor and the interest rates, which were lower than the pre-pandemic levels, too have provided the much-needed fillip to the home-buying activity in the region.”

Pune had seen a record number of launches with realtors racing ahead to cash in the growth spurt. In the past few years, the city has been witnessing a gradually rising supply of project launches from developers of national repute too.

“With its proximity to the financial capital Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Pune has flourished as an ideal destination with a pleasant climate and sylvan surroundings. These factors have led the developers of national repute to invest in Pune with their new developments”, added Mr. Naik.

Cordelia Cruises Partners With SanKash For “Sail Now And Pay Later” Service

Mumbai, 28 February 2023: Cordelia Cruises, India’s only largest premium cruise line, today announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership with SanKash, the new age travel SAAS platform that aggregates BNPL service providers to offer flexible pay-over-time payment choices. Cordelia Cruises will now be offering sailing options that will allow the guests to sail first and pay later with zero percent interest spread over a period of six months (and upto thirty-six months with interest) and no down payment required, making the overall travel experience a lot easier and fulfilling for many guests to come.

In accordance with this one-of-a-kind partnership, travelers will be able to spread the cost of their travel at the time of booking. This gives customers the option to choose to split the amount over a period of maximum of thirty-six months (with six months of zero percent interest) with the flexibility to choose how and when they wish to pay for their trip. Catering to the dreams of many Indians, this partnership between SanKash and Cordelia Cruises will allow them to explore the beauty that India is and simplify the financial requirements when it comes to exploring wonderful destinations like Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Goa, and more.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Oneel Verma, COO, of Cordelia Cruises said, “Cruising, despite being a fairly new travel option in India, has created a positive imprint in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the past one year. Cordelia Cruises has witnessed an encouraging response and continues to grow. However, it is still considered an aspiration for several from varied socio-economic backgrounds. Having associated with SanKash makes cruising significantly more accessible and approachable for all. Having to pay in 6 easy installments with no interest is a step closer to going on your dream vacation without having to worry about spending a large part of your savings. We are pleased to collaborate with SanKash to make cruising a viable option for many.”

Akash Dahiya, Co-Founder, SanKash added, “We are delighted to partner with Cordelia Cruises, to introduce the concept of ‘Sail Now and Pay Later’ in India. Cruises are seeing a surge in demand of late and India is a major contributor to this growth, globally. Driven by the rise in demand and high disposable incomes, the market has the potential to grow by 10X over the next decade.” In the leisure industry, ‘Cruise Tourism’ is one of the fastest growing and vibrant components worldwide and given India’s beautiful and vast coastline with undisturbed idyllic islands and a great cultural heritage, there is tremendous potential for India, a major cruise destination. The Government’s vision is to make India a significant player in the global cruise market, for both river

and ocean cruises.

“We are looking forward to adding a million users on the platform in the first 3-5 months” – Piyush Kulshreshtha, Founder & CEO, KhulKe

Interview with Piyush Kulshreshtha, Founder & CEO, KhulKe

1. Why the name KhulKe? What was the idea behind starting the KhulKe app?

KhulKe, simply means Openly. In India, this phrase is often used in a conversation when people want others to speak freely, clearly, and in detail so that others in conversation can make sense.Social media has one of the biggest influences on human society today, so much content is getting generated and consumed and yet, nobody visits social media to make sense of things.Information (sometimes unverified), fleeting remarks from all & sundry, targeted trends, and a lot of such unpleasant behaviour is very much an integral part of the social media experience. Even the best of the minds slips into such behaviour from time to time.

We identified that the structure and approach of social media platforms have a lot to contribute to such mass behaviour and if a conversational platform where culturally users are encouraged to engage in meaningful, powerful conversations with each other’s, where the conversations are moderated by users themselves, then there is certainly a large no of users and communities who would be interested in coming together on KhulKe.We do have other features like microblogging, private messaging, and a short video timeline. We will shortly introduce India’s first Video-based meeting software, which will be embedded within KhulKe in the early days.

2. How do you compare KhulKe with apps like Twitter, Instagram, Koo, etc.?

KhulKe as a platform integrates far more products than any of these platforms. We are proud that all of it has been developed by Indian Developers sitting in India, with funding from Indian Investors in a venture founded by an Indian.

Some key products on our platform are:

• RoundTable: Where users can have topical, time-bound, moderated conversations along with a set of audience and use it for podcasting live, interactive sessions with the audience, uploading recorded videos of any length
• TownHall: This is our microblogging feature that all social media users are familiar with. The only additional aspect here is that users can upload documents along with images, audio, or video.
• Yapp: This is our private messaging feature where one-to-one chats and audio, or video calls are possible. In a few weeks, group chats along with audio or video calls will also be available. Initially, users will be able to use this product only with KhulKe users and in a few months, they will be able to connect with their Mobile or Email Contacts as well
• Snip-It: This is our short video timeline where users can upload up to 2:30 mins videos, we hope a lot of informative and DIY videos will be seen in this segment
• Meeting: Our in-built video-based meeting service, which is as yet unreleased, and unnamed, will be out in the coming weeks or a month

From the range of products integrated on KhulKe, you will find that our entire approach to social media business is very different. This is beyond just status sharing, this is about conversations amongst communities in public and private, casually, or formally but always meaningfully. And that’s why the microfeature on these products will also appear to be well thought out

We are new, and we hope users will find value in such participation

3. How does KhulKe strategize to continue to differentiate?

The key differentiator for us will be the management & product development approach. We consider ourselves custodians of Free Speech. We are not here to project our ideologies and outlooks. The platform is meant for people, it is meant for communities and apart from the Laws of the Land, KhulKe as a platform will prefer to refrain from complicated Community Guidelines. Instead, we will continue to encourage users to moderate conversations themselves.

4. Tell us something about the revenue model of KhulKe

Advertising, Sponsored Conversations, CRM, Advisory Services, User Collaborations for Work, and a few other such revenue ideas are being worked upon by our team, but first steps first, at this point we are focusing on establishing our user base.

5. Any capital raise you are looking at?

We are looking at raising our second round very soon. Our product has to reach the gully-mohallas of India and that will require a considerable investment.

6. What are the challenges you have been facing in making KhulKe popular in India?

We have spent the last many months testing the platform technically as well as for User Experience, Content, and Marketing. We have gained immensely from these experiments and all the learnings are being implemented in various areas. The product is available in public, anybody can check the content on the platform without the necessity to sign-up. A strong rollout plan is being put in place and you will see our advertising campaign very soon.We are confident that millions of users will want to be part of such an evolved concept.

7. What are your plans ahead?

We are working on our launch campaign as we speak and thereafter gearing up for the second round of fundraising. We are looking forward to adding a million users on the platform in the first 3-5 months.We are also looking at rolling out a campaign for inviting a large number of content creators who can match our vision for good quality & meaningful content with simple language and interactive formats. An exciting early-stage monetization plan is underway.

Pacific D21 Mall, Dwarka, hosts Pacific Super Chef with Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka

Pacific D21 Mall, Dwarka, had recently partnered with Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka to host “Pacific Super Chef,” known as Dwarka’s biggest culinary talent hunt. The brand partners of the event were Smart Bazar, Licious Kitchen, and Barbeque Nation.

The “Pacific Super Chef” auditions were held on 24th February. Mr Kheem Singh Adhikari, Territory Chef, Barbeque Nation, was the judge of Pacific Super Chef Day 1. He has over ten years of experience as a Culinary Chef. The audition rounds saw a participation of 60 people, out of which 10 were selected for the Grand Finale. The Pacific Super Chef Grand Finale took place on 25th February. Event Parks put the event together.

Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka’s famous banquet chef, Sunil Kumar, was the judge at the “Pacific Super Chef” grand finale on Saturday, held on 25th February. Having vast culinary experience, Sunil Kumar won the Bronze Medal at the Aahar competition in March 2018. He also shared his experiences with the contestants.

The contestants cooked a diverse range of wholesome Indian and continental dishes within a stipulated time. The “Pacific Super Chef” saw a fount of talent from various corners of Delhi, which impressed the judge, Sunil Kumar. The show enjoyed an excellent audience turnout.

The winners were announced at the end of the show. Mrs Charu Mathur secured the first position. Chef Prince Pradhan and Mrs Subhra Mandal were declared first and second runners-up, respectively.

The winner received vouchers worth Rs 10,000. The runners-up, on the other hand, got vouchers worth Rs 5,000. They also received certificates and exciting vouchers from Raddison Blu Hotel New Delhi Dwarka, Barbeque Nation, and other brands.

Commenting on the event’s success, Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director, Pacific Group, said, “Pacific D21 Mall, Dwarka conducted a spectacular event, Pacific Super Chef. The show successfully gave a platform to culinary experts and cooking gems with a pioneering future ahead. We saw equal participation from men and women at the competition, reflecting a notable social change. I wish each contestant and winner of the show the best for their future.”