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GIL Chemicals recognized among India’s Top 50 Best Workplaces in Manufacturing 2023

Bangalore, February 15, 2023: Congratulations to GIL Chemicals on being recognized among India’s Top 50 Best Workplaces in Manufacturing 2023. Earlier in November ‘22, GIL Chemicals was also certified as a Great Place To Work.

GIL Chemicals’ excellence in people practices crafted for their employees and the continuous action on the employee feedback enabled them to create a High Trust Culture. This recognition is a testament of GIL Chemicals’ competitive presence in the Manufacturing industry and their contribution towards transforming this traditional industry into a sustainable domain.

Nitin Nabar, Executive Director & President, GIL Chemicals said “Culture and People empowerment are two strong pillars at GIL-Chemicals, which have been our growth stimulators. We strive towards building an atmosphere that brings in the right set of changes at our workplace. This ensures that we have a richness of culture and a diverse workforce throughout the years. Our Empowered and highly engaged team has been instrumental in transforming our business and creating value.”

Vahak collaborates with Coverstack to provide vehicle insurance to the Indian Trucking Community

Bangalore– February 15, 2023: Vahak, India’s most trusted transport community platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Coverstack, a digital B2B insurance infrastructure solution platform.

Vahak, co-founded by IITians Karan Shaha and Vikas Chandrawat in 2019, is on a mission to digitize the Indian logistics sector which currently contributes over 14 percent to India’s GDP. This logistics tech company is fostering India’s largest ecosystem of transport SMEs, shippers, and lorry/fleet owners on its website and app, amid the fast-growing $250 Billion Logistics Sector in the country. While CoverStack provides technological solutions and insurance infrastructure to BFSI industry players. Aiming to revolutionize the insurance buying market, CoverStack offers a zero-code, ready-to-use, full-stack platform for buying and servicing insurance digitally, enabling a mass reach out.

With this collaboration, Vahak will bring Coverstock’s cutting-edge insurance technology for the Indian trucking community to its app, making digital insurance processes efficient, fast, and cost-effective. This tech stack integration on Vahak’s app is expected to be completed in the next two months. Elaborating on the collaboration, Karan Shaha, Co-Founder, and CEO at Vahak, said, “Our vision is to build a trusted transport community platform that looks out for transporters, fleet owners, and truckers’ well-being. Our collaboration with CoverStack will empower the Indian trucking community with a more convenient and cost-effective way to get vehicle insurance. We are confident that our combined effort will bring greater peace of mind and security to the Indian trucking community.”

Sanjib Jha, the CEO, of Coverstack, added, “We are excited to partner with Vahak, as we believe that this collaboration will bring innovation and value to the Indian trucking industry. By leveraging the strength of both companies, users will receive the best motor insurance buying experience on their fingertips. Deep integrations have opened new avenues for the insurance sector, enabling insurance and non-insurance players to digitise or add insurance products to their portfolios within months.”

Post integration, over half a million monthly active users on the Vahak platform, will be able to buy motor insurance directly from the app at competitive prices. With this, Vahak has expanded its value-added service portfolio on top of GPS, safe and secure payments, digital brand building and networking for both, logistics supply and demand side players, in addition to its core AI and ML technology-enabled marketplace for load-lorry matchmaking with true price discovery and efficient return load booking features.

Andhra Pradesh looks to attract domestic and global investment across a dozen sectors, aims for a 10% share in India’s exports soon

New Delhi, 15th February 2023: The state of Andhra Pradesh showcased its rich natural resources, large investments in infrastructure, land bank, and intensive reforms in rules and regulations at successful investors meeting held today in Bengaluru. These efforts, taken together, position Andhra Pradesh as the state where abundance meets prosperity. The event is one of many such meets being organised in the run-up to the Global Investors Summit on March 3rd-4th 2023 in Visakhapatnam.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Gudivada Amarnath, honourable Minister for Industries, Infrastructure, Investment & Commerce, IT, Handlooms & Textiles highlighted the state’s export potential. The honourable minister said, “According to LEADS Report 2022, the state’s exports increased by 15.31% from the previous year in 2021–2022, classifying it as “Achievers” in the Coastal States. With the completion of new ports and also further development of infrastructure for the last-mile connectivity, the state’s share in exports can reach up to 10% of India’s total exports.”

Addressing the investors Shri. Buggana Rajendranath honourable Minister for Finance, Planning, Commercial Taxes, Skill Development, Training & Legislative Affairs assured the investors of the fast-paced implementation of projects in the state. “We strongly believe reducing the time to start a business will have a significant impact on the manufacturer’s profitability. The state is building numerous plug-and-play facilities which will have ready-built factory sheds with quality power and water supply and help speed up setting up of manufacturing units,” said the honourable minister.

Shri. Amarnath also added that in the last 3.5 years, the state has approved investments to the tune of Rs.1.9 lakh Crore. “That would go on to create employment for around 90,000 people in the state in the future,” he said.

Key functionaries from various departments, ministries, and state government institutions had an open interaction with the investing community in Bengaluru today. Promising to handhold potential investors and facilitate the fastest turnaround time the presentations showcased the present and upcoming infrastructure and the conducive policy environment of the state.

Manufacturing, food processing, ports, IT and Electronics, handlooms, and textiles sectors attracted significant interest at the event. Andhra Pradesh is India’s gateway to the southeast with its 974 km long coastline, the second longest in the country, 6 existing ports, and 4 upcoming ports. However, it has also emerged as the fastest-growing state in India, as per the number released so far, with double-digit growth of 11.43% in 2021-22. The state has embarked on a rapid growth path under the able leadership of Sri Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Honourable Chief Minister. Thanks to the governance reforms and formulation of investor-friendly policies by the government, the state has emerged on top in terms of ease of doing business (EoD) for three consecutive years.

Consistent improvement in the governance framework to create hassle-free investing is augmented by hard infrastructure as three of the country’s eleven industrial corridors are being built in Andhra Pradesh alone. The improvements have been duly recognised and the state has received various awards over the last year alone. To name a few the LEADS award for logistics 2022, the Inertia Award for Energy 2022, the ET award for port-led, and the infrastructure project 2022.

The event was also graced by the key functionaries of state government including Dr Srijana Gummalla, IAS, Director of Industries, Commerce & Export Promotion Vice Chairperson & Managing Director AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation CEO, AP Economic Development Board, Sri. L Sridhar Reddy, CEO, AP Food Processing Society; Sri. Ravindranath Reddy, Deputy CEO, AP Maritime Board; Smt. K. Sunitha, IAS, Principal Secretary, Handlooms & Textiles Government of Andhra Pradesh.

NBHC creates Direct Procurement Centers (DPC’s) in Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, also introduces “Kisan Saathi”

Hyderabad/Mumbai, 15th February 2023: National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC), a leading Agritech company offering top-notch integrated services in post-harvest agri-ecosystem, today announced the launch of three Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) at Bundi (Rajasthan) and Sasaram (Bihar) for Paddy and Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) for Maize.

NBHC commenced Direct Farmer Procurement in the last kharif season with the objective of connecting farmers directly with end users i.e., processors/exporters by creating these DPCs as pilot projects and has successfully procured from 700+ Farmers. In the Chhindwara location in MP, NBHC has partnered with Krish-e, the farming as a service vertical of the Mahindra Group for enabling the procurement of Maize directly from farmers. The company has achieved a milestone of having procured over 38,000 quintals of Rs. 103 Million of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in 3 commodities namely Paddy (Basmati), Paddy (Sonam & Katarni), and Maize.

In 2021, NBHC expanded its services through ‘Krishi Setu’, an e-Market platform for providing end-to-end digitized services in the post-harvest agri value chain ecosystem. Krishi Setu is committed to providing access to the largest network of agri-commodity sellers, buyers, and lenders across the country. In the FY 2022-23, NBHC has transacted 1 million quintals valued at Rs. 2,650 Million of GMV.

Commenting on this milestone achievement, Mr. Deepak Kumar Singh, SVP & Business Head – Agri Commerz, NBHC said, “The changing agriculture policies paradigm is creating newer opportunities to serve farmers. As a trusted partner, it is our endeavor to positively impact farmers’ income by maintaining transparency in weight, quality assaying, and enabling market linkages and financing options in our newly created DPCs in Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. We have also introduced the concept of “Kisan Saathi”, our local support system in these designated DPCs for providing logistics support to farmers for bringing in their produce at the DPCs. With an aim to promote village-level entrepreneurs as Kisan Saathis, we are proudly engaged with a total of 50+ Kisan Saathis at these DPCs and wish to further augment the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

We are delighted to share that our DPCs have received an amazing response from farmers, which demonstrates our commitment to empowering farmers by opening a gateway to lucrative deals and addressing their unmet needs. This represents a significant milestone for NBHC as we continue to grow and further our expansion plan of creating around 100 DPCs in the FY 2023-24. The combined power of our geographic spread, SOP-driven robust operations, and easy access through Krishi Setu promise to make NBHC an Agritech Powerhouse in the near future”.

We thank our anchor buyers (largely processors), for their extended support and we further aim to connect with a greater number of processors and corporates to join us in our effort to enhance the farmers’ income, by directly procuring through NBHC – DPCs.

An online solo exhibition ‘Soulful Strides’ by Artist Priyendra Shukla presented by Ehsaas and Arthouse from February 15th to March 14th, 2023

Artist Priyendra Shukla will be showcasing hi solo o nline exhibition called ‘Soulful Strides’ portraying his passion and fascination for the majestic horse on Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 at 7.30 pm. The show is curated by Manisha Gawade and is presented by Ehsaas, New Delhi and Arthouse by AV, Dubai.

Soulful Stride is a beautiful array of artworks in which the artist explicitly portrays the force and speed that is the essence of the Horse. Through bold and forceful brushstrokes and spatula, he reflects his thoughts on canvas, unhindered. Using an interplay of thin, emotive strokes and bold patches of colours and seeks to encapsulate the spirit of raw power and momentum that defines the form of a horse.

Talking about his artworks and the exhibition, Shukla remarks, ‘As the moment flashes by, leaving its colour on my being, I try to hold on to it. For these colours fade away with time, pushed back into oblivion by fresh colours of new moments. Such are the workings of the ever-changing panorama that is life. I long to internalize the moment and bring it to the realm of the tangible, where I can go back and live it again. But need I tell you, that to do so, is impossible?’

A journalist, internationally acclaimed artist, curator and designer herself, Manisha Gawade has curated the exhibition and extends support via her organisation -Ehsaas which she created along with her sister Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi bringing breakthroughs in Indian art and textile. Manisha Gawade has contributed widely to the media from television, and radio to the print media. She has been a part of more than 132 painting exhibitions the world over and many of her paintings form a part of serious museum collections as well as palace collections in Oman and Dubai, Europe and South America. She has been working with more than 200 weavers in the past few years and has curated several textile exhibitions for them to give them a bigger platform.

Manisha Gawade exclaimed, “Priyendra’s muse has noticeably been the horse and with Soulful Strides he comes out with yet another bold collection. The unrestrained impulsiveness in his works is inspired by the fluid movement of these stunning creatures. The almost frolicking lines, the limited number of colours employed and the seemingly random movement of strokes, come together to achieve awe-inspiring results certain to resonate with the discerning art aficionado.”

The show receives strong anchorage from Ambika Vohra who has carved out a niche for herself in the world of art by encouraging young emerging talent from the Subcontinent, Europe and Middle East, giving them windows of opportunity.

The show will go live on Wednesday on online platforms Facebook and Instagram. Interested viewers can log onto the following links to enjoy the exhibition. She is a highly acclaimed name in the world of art and has organised several major exhibitions across the GCC.

CriticalRiver Partners with Accure.ai to Accelerate Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Adoption for Businesses

Hyderabad, 15 February 2023 – CriticalRiver, a global digital and technology consulting services company, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Accure.ai, a data engineering and machine learning platform. Through this partnership, CriticalRiver aims to provide enterprises and corporate houses with an accelerated AI/ML platform – Momentum AI – that enables them to automate their business processes more efficiently and address key challenges in industries across banking & finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government bodies. The multi-year innovation partnership also aims to accelerate the use of AI to improve financial services.

Momentum AI is an AI/ML platform that assists at every stage of the AI workflow—from data ingestion to data processing, creating a data lake and data pipeline, and developing AI solutions using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), computer vision, deep learning AI models, and eventually visualizing the results in the Business Intelligence layer of Momentum. It also enables businesses to automate processes and gain rapid business insights through applications. This helps businesses gain a competitive edge over their competition and develop various applications, including intelligent avatars, speech AI, and fraud detection.

Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Chandra Gundlapalli, Senior Vice President of Digital Transformation, CriticalRiver Inc., said, “We are very excited about the potential of a strategic partnership to achieve our vision for modernization. With our expertise in AI/ML, we aim to assist our global customers in streamlining their processes and creating solutions that enhance risk management, efficiency, and customer service.”

The collaboration aims to make a strategic impact by utilizing Accure.ai’s Momentum platform, which offers support throughout the AI workflow, including data processing, AI model training, simulation, and large-scale deployment. The platform enables CriticalRiver’s proven data scientist innovation team to accelerate the automation of business processes for its customers, create innovative roadmaps to fuel sustainable growth, fasten the development of a broad range of solutions, and power end-to-end offerings.

“We are thrilled to partner with CriticalRiver and their team of data science experts to bring the power of our Momentum platform to more businesses,” said Mr. Mogishuddin Raza, co-founder & COO of Accure.ai. “Together, we will help businesses gain rapid insights and automate processes to gain a competitive edge in their respective industries,” he added.

The other co-founder and CEO of Accure.ai, Sam Ansari, who works from Virginia, USA, and is also an adjunct professor at George Mason University in the Data Science and Data Analytics Engineering Department, has also expressed his excitement about this collaboration. He said, “This strategic collaboration will be the one-stop solution for the businesses in achieving operational excellence, which will significantly improve their top and bottom lines. Besides Momentum enabling businesses in developing AI & Automation solutions, there are several out-of-box automated AI solutions that can be implemented rapidly in customer environments such as revenue assurance & leakages, Opex optimization, fraud detection, etc., which helps in obtaining ROI sooner than expected.”

“The strategic partnership with Accure.ai will empower CriticalRiver to leverage our domain and technical expertise across industries. It will also help deploy business-critical solutions quickly and keep our clients ahead of their competition,” added Mr. Anwar Hussain, Director – AI/ML & DevSecOps, CriticalRiver Inc.

The partnership will help CriticalRiver’s customers develop predictive models and automate business processes, ultimately helping them gain a competitive edge.

Top 5 HCM solutions providers for the year 2023

The workforce is currently becoming more digitalized as the trend toward hybrid working models gains traction. HR managers are looking to technology for assistance with everything from hiring to preserving employee engagement to ensuring retirement goes smoothly. Businesses must make the necessary HCM software investments in order to improve productivity, cost-effectiveness, and employee retention.

Listed below are the top HCM software which are ruling the HR space in 2023.

• TeamLease HRtech

TeamLease HRtech is replacing manual, inaccurate, and time-consuming HR management activities with highly automated and digitalized goods and processes in an effort to close the gap in the HR sector. These will facilitate a positive employee experience while enhancing productivity, throughput, and digital engagement.

With its main platform built on Node.js and utilizing cutting-edge technologies like Microservices on AWS and Kubernetes, the company offers comprehensive tech solution suites for payroll management, workforce administration, talent acquisition, benefits, and compliance. Additionally, it offers a cloud-based HCM platform that combines AI and ML to enhance the employee experience and boost productivity by up to 50%. Its HCM platform, which handles more than 100 million transactions each month, is already used by more than 2 million different employees. So that HR managers aren’t constrained to a small number of HR analytics and reporting products, they are deploying a blockchain-based advanced analytics engine that offers custom analytics and reporting capabilities that can be used in a DIY approach. In order for the staff to feel as though they are working effectively in an atmosphere that is similar to their actual office environment, they are also investigating how to use VR to build a virtual environment enabled by augmented reality.

• Darwin Box

A one-stop shop for all the technical aspects of the HR division, Darwinbox is a complete and integrated human resource (HR) software. Darwinbox addresses all HR-related demands throughout the employee life cycle, including payroll, leave, transfer, and departure management, in addition to performance management and exit planning. The Darwinbox creators think that the keys to long-term success are outstanding products and market fit. Darwinbox intends to focus on research and investment in deep-tech solutions in order to develop the most advanced enterprise HR technology solution.

• ZingHR

ZingHR uses cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain Data Management Systems, Face-ID, Zero-touch Payroll, Digital Onboarding, chatbots, and Robotic Interviews to create industry-specific solutions that produce significant and discernible outcomes. Their platform offers a comprehensive spectrum of services, each one specifically created for a particular type of business, from “Hire to Rehire.” ZingHR’s processes and attributes together result in better problem-solving and revenue-boosting solutions.

Their cloud-based HRMS technology is accessible from any location in the world and is bilingual and mobile-first.

Their products, which include employee engagement, talent management, talent acquisition, productivity, and workforce management, are designed to support an enterprise’s transition to digital human capital that goes beyond simple automation.

• Ethos HR

With almost two decades of expertise, Ethos HR Management has made a name for itself as a market leader in people management and has served businesses of all sizes and in a range of sectors, from start-ups to global conglomerates, with reliable, excellent services.

Before offering specialized hiring, outsourcing, training, and consulting services for both on-shore and off-shore requirements, Ethos conducts needs analyses with corporations and a wide range of other organizations. They provide their clients with RPO engagement models that are lean, scalable, and incredibly customizable.

In addition to recruitment, talent deployment & outsourcing, management consulting, and recruitment process outsourcing, they also provide value-added services.

• Excelity Global

With more than 400 clients spread over 17 countries, Excelity Global is a top provider of payroll, benefits, and human resource management in the Asia Pacific area. It provides these clients with services through businesses in China, the Philippines, Singapore, India, and Singapore. Excelity works with organizations to provide precise, specialized outsourcing solutions to address their concerns about human capital. Excelity continuously questions the existing quo and works in the background to enhance the HR departments of businesses all over the world.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited awards scholarships to 370 students from 35 government senior secondary schools

By Mr. Raj Kumar, Hon’ble Secretary Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power-DDL, and Ms. Kiran Gupta, CEO & ED, Powerlinks Transmission Limited

With the intent of promoting higher education among the students of SC/ST Communities, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited organized the Tata Affirmative Action Program (TAAP) Annual Scholarship Distribution Ceremony under its Ujjwal Program (CSR Initiative) at its Learning Centre in Rohini. During the event, a total of 370 students from 35 government senior secondary schools received scholarships in the form of reference books, stationery items, and school bags.

The company has undertaken various initiatives for the upliftment of women in society. With the same spirit and to encourage girl children to pursue higher education, nearly 50% of these scholarships were given to girls.

These scholarships were presented by Mr. Raj Kumar, Hon’ble Secretary, Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, and Ms. Kiran Gupta, CEO & ED, Powerlinks Transmission Limited. Along with them, the event was graced by the presence of Senior Leadership Team members of Tata Power-DDL, principals, teachers, and students who participated in the program.

Talking about the program, Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, said, “Education is one of the most important thrust areas of the TAAP framework and as a responsible corporate citizen, it is our endeavor to help meritorious students. We launched our annual scholarship program with the aim of bringing positive change in society and encouraging young minds to follow their dreams. We are confident that educated youth can play an important role in shaping a brighter future for our nation.”

Launched in 2007, Tata Power-DDL’s Ujjwal Program focuses on SC & ST students whose economic condition is not conducive to sustaining studies. These students are constantly monitored and mentored by the company so that they do not drop out and rather improve their educational performance. Subsequently, the same set of students are taken through a customized personality development program covering interpersonal skills, career counseling and competency testing through expert NGOs. Through this initiative around 15000 students of classes X, XI & XII from 48 Government Senior Secondary schools have benefitted to date.

Vikas Gupta joins Vitesco Technologies as Head of Finance for India business

Mumbai, February 15, 2023: Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of advanced powertrain technologies and solutions for e-mobility, announced recently that it has appointed Vikas Gupta as the Head of Finance for the India business. He will be in charge of the financial operations which include financial planning & analysis, reporting, taxation, risk management, and treasury operations for the overall Vitesco business in India.

Prior to this, Vikas Gupta was the Chief Financial Officer at Napino Control Systems Limited, a JV company of Napino Auto and Vitesco Technologies. He played a pivotal role for the joint venture set up on the financials and the commercials side. Vikas is a qualified Cost and Works Accountancy (CWA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) with 18 years of experience in Paper, Power, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), and Automobile in the field of Accounting, Costing, Business Controlling, Budgeting/Forecasting, Taxation, and Treasury. He was also associated with Genpact and Carlsberg Group in the past.

Talking about the new role, Vikas Gupta said, “Vitesco Technologies has a great work culture and keeps their values on priority in every decision making. Vitesco Technologies understands its responsibilities towards industry, the environment, and mankind. It gives me immense pleasure to be working in the esteemed organization and take the responsibility to sustain the values created.”

Anurag Garg, Managing, Director & Country Head, Vitesco Technologies, India said, “Having collaborated with Vikas in the past, I have a great deal of trust and confidence in Vikas’s abilities and his leadership skills. He is truly passionate about the vision of Vitesco Technologies, and I am grateful to have his support to advance our organization on its future growth trajectory. His vast experience in financial management with strong strategic expertise will help us accelerate toward our next phase of business growth.”

Vitesco Technologies is a leading international developer and manufacturer of cutting-edge drive systems for sustainable transport solutions. With the help of intelligent system solutions and components for electric, hybrid, and internal combustion drive systems, Vitesco Technologies makes clean, efficient, and affordable transport a reality. The product portfolio includes electric drives, electronic control units, sensors and actuators, and exhaust after-treatment solutions. In 2021, Vitesco Technologies generated sales of €8.3 billion. It employs nearly 37,000 people at around 50 sites. Vitesco Technologies is headquartered in Regensburg.