11, Feb 2023
6380 Unacademy Learners secure over 90 Percentile in JEE Mains Session 1 Exam
India, 11th February 2023: Unacademy, India’s largest learning platform, announced that 6380 Unacademy Learners secured over 90 percentile of which over 864 Learners scored 99 percentile plus and 67 Learners achieved over 99.9 percentile in JEE Main 2023 Session 1 examination. Over 3748 Learners secured 95+ percentile. 6380 Learners secured over 90+ percentile. The examination will help Learners get admission to top engineering colleges and technical institutes in the country.
Additionally, 2 Unacademy Learners secured the highest percentile in the exam with 35 subject-wise 100 percentiles. Amongst the toppers are, Deshank Pratap Singh (100 Percentile) from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Nipun Goel (100 Percentile) from Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, Toshit Jain (99.98 percentile) from Vadodara, Gujarat, Arnav Agarwal (99.94 percentile) from Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Ayush Jha (99.85 percentile) from Faridabad, Haryana.
Key highlights of the Unacademy JEE Main Session 1 2023 exam results:
- 2 Learners secured 100 percentile
- 33 Learners secured 100 percentile subject-wise
- 67 Learners secured over 99.9 percentile
- 864 Learners secured over 99 percentile
- 1676 Learners secured over 98 percentile
Unacademy is the leading online learning platform for JEE exams. Through best-in-class offerings like high-quality content, 1:1 live sessions, and personalized mentorship from top Educators, Unacademy has emerged as a popular space for Learners to excel in their educational journey. Further with the recent launch of Unacademy Centres across Kota, Lucknow, Noida, Ahmedabad, Patna, and several others, JEE Learners now have access to a premium learning experience with high-tech infrastructure.
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- By Rabindra
11, Feb 2023
RuPay Prime Volleyball League- Match Preview – Calicut Heroes vs Hyderabad Black Hawks
Bengaluru, February 11th: In their first encounter against Mumbai Meteors, Calicut Heroes were stunned by the RuPay Prime Volleyball League debutants in the first set. As Mumbai won the set with ease, it seemed like Calicut might not be able to get back to the contest. But with hundreds of fans cheering on at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, Calicut Heroes went on to win the remaining sets with ease and picked up a comeback victory.
Speaking ahead of Calicut’s second encounter against Hyderabad Black Hawks, which is set to take place at the same venue on Saturday, star playmaker Jerome Vinith explained how his team managed to get the win despite losing the first set.
“When we entered the match and lost the first set, we were a little bit nervous. Our passes were not going right in the first 10 minutes. But we settled down and spoke to each other after the first set and rectified our errors to come back and win the match,” the attacker said.
Now, set to face off against the young and dynamic Hyderabad side led by SV Guru Prashanth, who have won one of their two games, Vinith said that his squad has made their strategies keeping the opposition’s strengths in mind.
“Hyderabad are a very good team and they can create pressure any moment. We have experienced players in our camp. So we are quite confident. We do not underestimate any opponents, and we have made our strategies keeping Hyderabad’s squad in mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Black Hawks were outplayed by the defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts in their second encounter, as they lost the game 1-4. But attacker Varun GS insists that his team made the errors that cost them the game.
“Our team is quite strong. We picked an easy win in the first game as we played with confidence. In the second game, Kolkata Thunderbolts did not win points, we gave away points ourselves making unforced errors that cost us the game. We look to reduce these errors against Calicut Heroes,” he said.
It has already been seen several times in RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 that making too many unforced errors can prove to be costly. Bengaluru Torpedoes made 19 unforced errors in their first game against Kolkata and then continued a similar trend against Ahmedabad Defenders on Thursday, and ended up losing both games.
Vinith expands on why it is important to ensure players that they do not give away freebies in the 15-point format. “This is a 15-point match. It is very easy and very difficult to win the matches. If everyone makes one mistake, you have already lost six points. The team that makes fewer errors will win the matches,” he said.
For Hyderabad, two overseas players Trent O’Dea and Carlos Zamora have both proven to be quite effective and Varun opened up on how the two players communicate with the rest of the team during tough moments in a match.
“Trent O’Dea is quite experienced. He guides us a lot when we are going down in a match. He motivates us during the match and gives good advice. Carlos Zamora is also vastly experienced and a great presence on the field.”
While many would expect Hyderabad to get flustered seeing the level of support Calicut Heroes enjoy in the stadium, Varun made it clear that his team will focus on their own game and will not be affected by it.
“I don’t feel our team will get affected by the presence of Calicut fans. We are used to playing amid crowds. We just look to focus on our game. In fact, the stadium was empty last year – but crowds are back now, so it is quite thrilling to play in front of them.”
On the other hand, Vinith feels the fans are part of the Calicut army and he hopes to continue the winning momentum in front of them.
“We are excited to play in front of the fans again. Their presence really motivates us. They are a part of our army and we are eager to get another win against them,” he signed off.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 will be telecast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 1 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & Sony Sports Ten 2 (Malayalam) channels in India and will be streamed on Volleyball World TV outside the Indian subcontinent, starting February 4, Saturday.
11, Feb 2023
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited Announces Acquisition of Sonata Finance, a Leading Microfinance Institution
Bengaluru, 11th February 2023: Kotak Mahindra Bank (“KMBL” / “Bank”) today announced that it has executed binding share purchase agreement(s) to acquire 100% of equity shares of Sonata Finance Private Limited (“SFPL”), a Non-Banking Finance Company, classified as an NBFC-MFI, from existing shareholders, subject to regulatory and other approvals, including from Reserve Bank of India.
Transaction Structure and Valuation
The acquisition is for an aggregate all-cash consideration of approximately ₹ 537 crores. With this acquisition, SFPL will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank after receiving regulatory and other approvals.
Strategic Rationale
- Financial inclusion: SFPL provides a strong platform to enable the Bank to become a significant player in the financial inclusion segment, catering to economically weaker and underserved households in a commercially viable manner.
- Complementary branch network: As of Dec 31, 2022, SFPL has an Asset Under Management(AUM) of ~₹ 1,903 crores, servicing a customer base of ~9.0 lacs through a branch network of 502 branches across 10 states, which complements the Bank’s microfinance network.
- Potential to scale: The Transaction provides the Bank with the opportunity to scale up its operations in the rural & semi-urban markets in the northern states of India. SFPL is an established microfinance player with almost two decades of experience and a deep understanding of customers in these markets.
- Value accretive: The acquisition is expected to be value accretive from inception given the economies of scale and unlocking of efficiencies along with the Bank’s own distribution footprint and technology. The Bank will also leverage SFPL’s network to provide a wider suite of banking products to SFPL’s customer base matching their emerging banking needs.
Manish Kothari, President – Commercial Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “Sonata is a leading microfinance player and has built a strong enterprise over the last two decades. This acquisition is in sync with our broad vision and strategy. We had successfully acquired BSS Microfinance in 2017 and since then have been able to integrate & steadily grow our presence in the financial inclusion segment with an advances book in excess of ₹ 5,300 crores serving ~1.3 million borrowers. There are significant potential synergies to be realized as a result of this acquisition and we look forward to continuing serving the customers in a smooth and consistent manner and ensuring their needs are well-served going forward”.
Mr Anup Kumar Singh, CEO and MD of SFPL said, “I am extremely pleased that Sonata will be in the trusted and experienced hands of the Kotak Mahindra Group. Sonata was started with the objective of providing financing to underserved customer segments. I believe this mission is best served in a scalable and sustainable manner on a big bank’s platform. The transaction will bring immense benefits to Sonata’s customers, employees, and other stakeholders. I am pleased that current customer households of Sonata will benefit from Kotak Bank’s full range of products and best-in-class digital services.”
“ I would like to thank all my investors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders who contributed in building the Company to this stage.”
11, Feb 2023
Tummoc launches #LoveIsSimpleMakeItGreen campaign to promote sustainability this Valentine’s Day
India, 11th February 2023: Valentine’s week has taken an environment-friendly turn for the multi-modal app, Tummoc. The patented public transport commute app decided to put an eco-friendly spin on the celebrated day of lovers by highlighting that Valentine’s doesn’t have to be about extravagant gifts and fancy dinners. The motive of the campaign is to encourage commuters to do things that are both wholesome and planet friendly and spread awareness among them to take public transport instead of using private vehicles to cut down carbon emissions in the city with #LoveIsSimpleMakeItGreen and #LoveForThePlanetToo.
With regard to climate change and the reduction of pollution in big cities, Monalisha Thakur, Co-Founder & CMO at Tummoc said,” Usage of fossil fuels is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. Our mission is to prioritize urban mobility and this can only happen if people will start traveling more by public transport. Through this small initiative, we want commuters to show some love for the environment. Valentine’s Day can be quite difficult for the environment. But it doesn’t have to be as there are ways to do this sustainably and with love for the Earth.”
The campaign is targeting commuters from 18-35 years of age. It is not only for couples but also for singles and everyone whose first priority should always be mother earth. Tummoc makes the public transport experience more interesting by calculating the time spent in public transport and the amount of carbon users would have emitted in case of private transport usage. Tummoc has also taken an initiative where they plant trees on user behalf on the amount of carbon they have saved by traveling via public transport through their app.
Tummoc started to focus on global warming and other types of pollution that increasing urbanization and resultant urban travel have led to. Its primary goal is to move people from private transport to public transportation and reduce the number of greenhouse gases being released from vehicular movement. It strives to be a carbon-neutral company in the next five years.
This smart commute app has a total user base of 2M+ Users, and is currently operational in 17 cities, having completed 2M+ plus trips so far and Bengaluru users have booked 800K+ BMTC bus passes so far.
11, Feb 2023
Kotak Mahindra Bank Increases Fixed Deposit Interest Rates by Upto 25bps
Bengaluru, 11th February 2023: Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL”/“Kotak”) today announced an increase in fixed deposit interest rates across select amounts and tenor buckets by up to 25bps.
In the 15 months to 2 years, tenor bucket the Bank now offers 7.25% for deposit amounts Rs.2crs to 5crs and 7.10% for deposit amounts up to Rs.2 cars in the 12 months 25 days to 2 years tenor bucket. Additionally, Senior Citizens are now offered a rate of 7.60% for deposit amounts of up to Rs.2 cars in the same tenor. The revised rates will be effective 10th Feb 2023.
Virat Diwanji, Group President and Head – of Consumer Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “With the RBI increasing key interest rates, we have passed on the benefit to our valuable customers offering them a higher return on their savings.” *
KMBL’s Revised Fixed Deposit Interest Rates in specific buckets:
| Fixed Deposit Interest Rates for Amounts < Rs. 2 crores | ||
| Tenor Buckets | Regular | Senior Citizens |
| 180days to 363 days | 6.00% | 6.50% |
| 364 days | 6.25% | 6.75% |
| 365days to 389days | 6.90% | 7.40% |
| 12months 25days to < 2 years | 7.10% | 7.60% |
| Fixed Deposit Interest Rates for Amounts >= Rs. 2 crores upto Rs. 5 crores [Regular] | |
| 180days to 270 days | 6.50% |
| 280 days to 364 days | 6.75% |
| 365days to <15months | 7.20% |
| 15months to < 2 years | 7.25% |
11, Feb 2023
Aster RV Hospital Conducts Breakthrough Procedure on 71 yr. old
Bangalore, 11th February 2023 Aster RV Hospital recently conducted a rare and minimally invasive heart procedure on a 71-year-old patient, Shobha (name changed) suffering from rheumatic heart disease, giving her a new lease on life. Earlier, this procedure was conducted only once in Karnataka, making this the second of its kind in the state. Having already undergone two open-heart surgeries to treat her condition, a third open-heart surgery would be high risk and lead to a longer recovery time for the patient.
“Shobha was suffering from repeated spells of breathlessness, especially upon exertion, which is a common sign of valve degeneration. She had a bioprosthetic tricuspid valve implanted during her second open-heart surgery 12 years back which has now degenerated. In such a patient, particularly because of her age and comorbidities, conducting another open-heart surgery to fix a new valve can be extremely risky. We advised her to undergo a Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Valve-in-valve Procedure,” explained Dr. S. Venkatesh, Lead Consultant – Interventional Cardiology at Aster RV Hospital.
A physical examination, Echocardiogram, and CT Aortogram were performed to evaluate the size of the heart and determine whether there was any extra fluid in the heart or lungs, as well as other procedures to check the heart and assess any potential damage. The patient successfully underwent Tricuspid valve-in-valve implantation on 11 October 2021. “Through a vein puncture in the groin, we accessed her heart and implanted a MYVAL 27.5 mm tricuspid valve within the previous bioprosthetic valve. This procedure typically takes about an hour to complete. She was extubated the same day and had an uneventful recovery,” said Dr. Venkatesh.
“I was anxious about going through another open-heart surgery as I have crossed 70 years of age and do not have the strength that I used to have. This non-surgical option was great news to me, and I am glad I was in the hands of skilled doctors who made it a seamless experience. My recovery has been very smooth, and I was able to go back to my normal tasks within a week of surgery. I am enjoying my time with my grandkids!” said Shobha.
According to reports, about 70% of patients suffering from valve disease are due to rheumatic heart disease in India. This is a condition where the valves in the heart are permanently damaged because of childhood streptococcal infection and its sequela. The incidence of heart valve disease increases significantly with age affecting the longevity as well as the quality of life of elderly patients. This procedure requires expertise and is done only at specialized centres.
11, Feb 2023
Adani Gangavaram Port inducts a new loco at the port
Visakhapatnam: February 11 th, 2023: Adani Gangavaram Port the deepest and the most modern port in the country today inducted a new Loco Train to enhance the operational capacity & efficiency in rake handling from the port. The Port infrastructure is being developed with forward planning for future requirements of increased volumes of rakes future. The port has also set a new record of handling 600 rakes in a month. Previously the Gangavaram port handled 594 Rakes in December month.
The Port is having state of the art infrastructure facilities to manage various imports and export cargo having deep-depth multi-purpose cargo berths. In addition to that Adani, Gangavaram Port is equipped with vast storage facilities including covered warehouses to manage various cargos and state-of-the-art material handling systems. Adani GPL is consistently performing well and creating newer records for cargo management.
Speaking on the occasion Adani Gangavaram Port Limited management said “We are extremely delighted on adding a new loco at the port and also achieve the new record of handling 600 rakes in one month. We at Adani Gangavaram Port offer substantial economic benefits to Indian importers combined with highly efficient port operations and evacuation system with faster turnaround time & delivery. We are extremely happy to see the trade derive benefits of modern deep-water infrastructure.”
11, Feb 2023
MPOWER Financing opens a new 200+ seat office in Bengaluru to grow its team and support international student growth
Bengaluru, 1 1February 2023: MPOWER Financing, the leading provider of scholarships and no-cosigner loans to students from around the world, recently inaugurated a new workspace in Hebbal, Bengaluru. The team launched a brand-new, 22,000 sq. ft office, situated on the ninth floor of a high-rise building. Brick walls are creatively substituted with floor-length glass windows specially designed to enhance the free flow of creativity and novel thinking.
The newly inaugurated office has a seating capacity of over 200 people, expandable to 400 seats, to accommodate MPOWER’s ambitious employee growth plans. The new office is part of MPOWER’s philosophy of maximizing employee productivity and satisfaction, through state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, benefits, and flexible policies. For instance, MPOWER provides onsite meals, cab facilities, a doctor’s clinic, a coffee shop, an in-house cafe, games rooms, a cloud kitchen, and a small grocery shop. There is a daycare service nearby to maximize the convenience of working parents. Large open collaborative spaces, conference rooms, telephone booths, and training rooms have been designed to mirror MPOWER’s collaborative work style.
Expressing his thoughts on the inauguration of the new office, Mr. Manu Smadja, CEO and Co-founder of MPOWER Financing said, “We are excited about this new workspace which is designed with employee interests at heart and is focused on providing a healthy, collaborative, and supportive work environment for everyone. Since raising USD$100 million from a consortium of investors in 2021, our growth has continued to accelerate. Through this bigger and better office space, we aim to stay true to our core values and our mission of providing access to education for an ever-growing number of bright students from around the world.”
MPOWER Financing has been recognized as a great place to work and is actively hiring for various roles such as engineering managers, salesforce developers, relationship managers, underwriters, and content managers in Bengaluru.
11, Feb 2023
Gift good health to your spouse this valentine’s day
Established in the year 1965 as a medical products manufacturing company, Medtech Life Pvt. Ltd. diversified in the year 1998 to manufacture electro-medical products. Medtech is the pioneer Indian manufacturer of home healthcare devices. Today they are India’s largest manufacturer of homecare electromedical devices.
With their manufacturing unit set up in Gujarat across 1.2 Lakh Sq. Ft. area, the company manufactures a wide range of products including Nebulizers, Blood Pressure Monitors, Digital Thermometers, Pulse Oximeters, and Oxygen Concentrators, to name a few.
Innovation being one of their core values, the company has been renowned for pioneering and leading in the production of nebulizers in India. It also has a DSIR-approved Research and Development Division that continuously innovates and develops new products.
In 1998, Yogesh Shah (Director – Medtech Life), a Biomedical Engineer launched the needle burner and syringe destroyer, a thoughtfully designed inventive product, to save lives of para-medicals, rag- pickers, and sanitation workers, who are exposed to the threat of undisposed needles and syringes. These devices can save millions of lives that are lost due to needle-struck injuries every year.
Firm believers in the concept of swadeshi, Medtech declined a lucrative acquisition offer by another foreign giant in the year 2018 and decided to continue manufacturing in India. It is recognized as a trusted brand in India for over 20 years, especially amongst distributor channels, not only owing to the quality of products but also the post-sales services and value delivered. With a consumer-centric thought process, they also provide doorstep replacement/repair of products and offer end-to-end customer support.
During the pandemic Covid19, the company set up mobile vans with oxygen concentrators across remote areas of India like Goa, Satara, and Mumbai. These vans were fitted with battery banks to power oxygen concentrators and were used to provide free oxygen supply to the ones in need.
With a focused approach to being enablers of longevity and saving lives, Medtech is envisaging spreading awareness about the need for monitoring health periodically and manufacturing superior quality devices for personal healthcare and wellness to the larger population of the country.
11, Feb 2023
Kairos Technologies announces setting up of K-Labs in Telangana
Hyderabad: 11th February 2023: Kairos Technologies, a global organization, with its delivery center in Hyderabad, Telangana announces the setting up of a dedicated R&D center K-Labs. K-Labs will have an investment to build new generation products combined with Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence with state-of-the-art technology. With a current size of 1000 employees, the company plans to hire 400 more employees this year across different geographies to foster future growth.
Kairos takes this opportunity to reincarnate itself with a new logo, theme, and style. This new identity will help the company to connect meaningfully with its customers. The new-age customers are embarking on the journey of digital transformation and Kairo’s new service portfolio helps the company align with its customer positioning and grow together.
Kairos is focused on being a global technology-driven company that embraces change, invests in innovation, and seeks out new challenges, with the clear goal of achieving what is possible. The new branding is based on the company’s heritage, technology, and people – three factors that have helped shape the company and its portfolio.
According to Mr. Sudhakar Pennam, Founder & CEO, of Kairos Technologies and Solunus, “We are problem solvers who strive to be better for our customers, each other, and our community. Kairos’s ethos is Persistent Ingenuity, pushing ourselves to find new answers and to keep thinking and innovating. Our end-to-end portfolio of Digital Quality Engineering Solutions and Services helps businesses to confidently scale up their digital landscape and harness the power of proven and evolving technologies for growth and business agility. The new identity truly reflects our passion to pioneer technologies that will help change the world. To promote innovation and digital transformation, we are planning to hire 400 more employees this year to further strengthen our team of passionate technology professionals.”
He further added, “We are also proud to introduce 2 new IP Led solutions from our dynamic R&D Lab (K-Lab). KiTAP – Kairos Intelligent Test Automation Platform, is an AI-driven Low-Code Test Automation Platform that seamlessly integrates with CI/CD Pipeline. It is the first AI-Powered Test Automation Platform with Source Code Deployment on the client’s Test Infra, which combines the power of AI and Human Intelligence for the digital-next businesses. Also, we introduce DQ-Gateway – an all-in-one no-code solution for Data Quality assessment. It is a unique Data Quality solution built for Data Analysts to ensure the quality of client’s data in an interactive visual manner. These products will further enhance our services and solutions for the digital transformation of our customers.”
“Technology is growing at a rapid pace, and we see Innovation happening every day. However, for this Innovation to go mainstream, a thorough validation of Consumer Experience becomes mandatory. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning need a lot of data modeling and learning before they can go mainstream. So new age testing is needed to validate these models and we are building AI to validate AI” is what Ms. Radhika Rao, CDO of Kairos Technologies says. Exciting times call for bold actions and Radhika says there cannot be a better time and place than now to re-engineer the future.
According to Mr. Jagadish Mankal, COO of Kairos Technologies, “The new identity helps us connect meaningfully with our customers. The future-ready Kairos is equipped with an enhanced service portfolio and innovative products to help customers in their digital transformation.”
