27, Oct 2023
What’s the deal with the beauty razor going viral for Korean glass skin?
27th October, New Delhi: From milk ice cubes to besan ka lep, women love to experiment with DIY kits to get the perfect sheen at home. One of the most effective and mess-free tools to achieve “the” flawless glow is a face razor. Bombae, by Bombay Shaving Company, is the pioneer in this category and has introduced its latest skincare innovation – GlamUP Beauty Face Razors.
Known for consumer-centric innovations, Bombae earlier made waves by launching India’s first body razor with a roller: the Bombae Rollplay razor. Following the precedence, GlamUp face razors come with a never-seen-before sparkling body; yes, you read that correctly. These beauty face razors are rather perfect, to add a whole lot of glam to your festive grooming routine.
Drawing inspiration from Korean skincare secrets, Bombae GlamUP Beauty Razor provides effortlessly natural and glowing skin. These beauty razors are the preferred pre-makeup essential by makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts as they exfoliate and prime skin for the perfect makeup look. Its anti-slip handle adorned with the perfect glitter body and high-precision blades ensure a safe and smooth shave every time.
Siddha Jain, Chief Business Officer at Bombae, says, “We at Bombae, always strive to stay true to the promise of being bold, honest and irreverent in everything we do. Our brand and product aesthetics stem from doing things in a way that has never been attempted before- be it Rollplay, India’s 1st razor with a roller or GlamUP, the most stylish skincare accessory. We are very excited about the new launches in our face and body razor portfolio- as it has the potential to establish Bombae as the challenger brand and truly elevate beauty and skincare for Indian women at the same time !”
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- By Rabindra
27, Oct 2023
Experience five best quality soundbars
Soundbars have become very popular these days, so when you buy a smart TV, a soundbar is a must-have। A soundbar’s low space consumption is one of its most important benefits। Also, a soundbar is always more modern than a speaker। If you want a soundbar but don’t want to spend a lot, there are a lot of options online. For your next party party, check out some of these modern, popular soundbars.
Zebronics Zeb-Jukebar
If you are looking for a soundbar that can serve as a home performance center this Zebronics Zeb-JUKEBAR 3900 is a good option. While the soundbar holds 40W and the subwoofer holds 40W, this soundbar supports a total of 80W RMS. Because of its strong double 5.7 cm drivers and a massive 13.7 cm subwoofer, the soundbar can deliver a remarkable, high-quality experience right at your home.
Pebble Arena 4:
With an output power of 40 watts, this 2.0 sound bar gives you premium sound quality. This elegantly designed sound system not only provides music to the ears but is also soothing to the eyes with its luxurious finish. The powerful bass enables the user to immerse themselves in the music while it provides easy access with the remote controller and remote equalizer sound controller. With customizable bass and treble, it truly makes the listener the master of the device. Revolutionizing the way you listen with our soundbar, the output delivers more pronounced highs and lows.
Portronics Slick 5:
This 80W remote soundbar provides you with an unbelievable theater-like sound experience that you have never seen before. Scratch-resistant sand-grain finish of this remote soundbar adds style to your home. Portronics Sound Smooth 5 provides you with improved sound quality. The Sound Smooth 5 provides a powerful 80W sound conveyance, making it the best remote soundbar. This soundbar lets you listen to great music.
Bluei Rocker 10 Avante:
Bluei introduces the Rocker R10 Avante Soundbar Bluetooth Speaker With its sleek and modern design, this soundbar will easily fit into any decor while giving you powerful sound and versatility like never before. At the core of the Rocker R10 Avante is its impressive 10W power output, ensuring that every note, beat, and melody resonates with clarity and precision. Whether you’re watching your favorite movies, listening to your favorite playlist, or playing exciting games, this soundbar will immerse you in a world of rich audio.
Blaupunkt SBA20 16W:
Bring this Blaupunkt soundbar into your living room and make the most of it. It will not only make your living room look better but also give you an unbeatable sound quality. Additionally, this soundbar can change how you watch TV with up to 7 hours of playtime. It works with phones, televisions, personal computers, projectors, tablets, and laptops.
27, Oct 2023
Zscaler ThreatLabz Finds a 400 Percent Increase in IoT and OT Malware Attacks Year-over-Year
Bengaluru, October 27, 2023 – Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS), the leader in cloud security, announced today the release of the ZscalerTM ThreatLabz 2023 Enterprise IoT and OT Threat Report. This year’s report provides an in-depth look at malware activity over a six-month period, analyzing approximately 300,000 blocked attacks on IoT devices secured by the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform.
The high number of attacks on IoT devices represents a 400% increase in malware compared to the previous year. The increasing frequency of malware attacks targeting IoT devices is a significant concern for OT security, as the mobility of malware can facilitate movement across different networks, potentially endangering critical OT infrastructure.
ThreatLabz focused on understanding IoT device activity and attributes via device fingerprinting and analyzing the IoT malware threat landscape. As more industries, organizations and individuals continue to rely on internet-connected devices, the threat from malware and legacy vulnerabilities increases. By adopting a zero-trust architecture, organizations can gain visibility into IoT device traffic and minimize IoT security risks.
“Weak enforcement of security standards for IoT device manufacturers coupled with the proliferation of shadow IoT devices at the enterprise level poses a significant threat to global organizations. Often, threat actors target ‘unmanaged and unpatched’ devices to gain an initial foothold into the environment,” said Deepen Desai, Global CISO and Head of Security Research, Zscaler. “To address these challenges, I encourage organizations to enforce zero trust principles when securing IoT and OT devices – never trust, always verify, and assume breach. Organizations can eliminate lateral movement risk by utilizing continuous discovery and monitoring processes to segment these devices.”
Consistent growth in attacks
With the steady adoption of IoT and personal connected devices, the report found an increase of over 400% in IoT malware attacks year-over-year. The growth in cyber threats demonstrates cyber criminals persistence and ability to adapt to evolving conditions in launching IoT malware attacks.
Additionally, research indicates that cybercriminals are targeting legacy vulnerabilities, with 34 of the 39 most popular IoT exploits specifically directed at vulnerabilities that have existed for over three years. The Mirai and Gafgyt malware families continue to account for 66% of attack payloads, creating botnets from infected IoT devices that are then used to launch denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against lucrative businesses.
Botnet-driven distributed DDoS attacks are responsible for billions of dollars in financial losses across industries around the globe. In addition, DDoS attacks pose a risk to OT by potentially disrupting critical industrial processes and even endangering human lives.
Manufacturing top targeted industry – Education being taught a lesson
Manufacturing and retail accounted for nearly 52% of IoT device traffic, with 3D printers, geolocation trackers, industrial control devices, automotive multimedia systems, data collection terminals, and payment terminals sending the majority of signals over digital networks. However, the quantity of device traffic has created opportunities for cybercriminals, and the manufacturing sector now sees an average of 6,000 IoT malware attacks every week.
Moreover, these substantial IoT malware attacks can disrupt critical OT processes, which are integral in many industrial manufacturing plants like automotive, heavy manufacturing, and plastic & rubber.
This creates long-term challenges for security teams at manufacturing businesses but also demonstrates that industrial IoT holds a substantial lead in adopting unique IoT devices (nearly three times more than other sectors). This increase is critical as manufacturing organizations continue adopting IoT tools for automation and digitization of legacy infrastructure.
Education is another sector that suffered from outsized attention from cybercriminals in 2023, with the propagation of unsecured as well as shadow IoT devices within school networks providing attackers with easier access points.
The wealth of personal data stored on their networks has made educational institutions particularly attractive targets, leaving students and administrations vulnerable. In fact, the report found IoT malware attacks in the education sector increased by nearly 1000%.
The United States and Mexico are the most targeted
Findings show that the United States is a top target for IoT malware authors with 96% of all IoT malware distributed from compromised IoT devices in the United States.
In 2023, Mexico experienced the most infections, with 46% of all IoT malware infections. In fact, three of the top four most infected countries (Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia) are all Latin American countries.
Safeguarding against IoT/OT attacks with the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™
The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform is a holistic approach to zero trust security, verifying identity and context, applying access controls, and enforcing policies before brokering a secure connection between a device and an application from anywhere, and on any network.
Zscaler protects enterprise networks using the Zero Trust Platform by leveraging Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™), whose identity-driven access and risk-based, comprehensive security protects the exchange of telemetry between IoT devices and corporate networks.
Zscaler protects the security of enterprise networks with the Zero Trust Exchange platform, which utilizes Zscaler Privileged Remote Access to provide remote workers and third-party vendors with clientless remote desktop access to sensitive RDP, SSH, and VNC production systems without having to install a client on unmanaged devices or log into jump hosts and VPNs. This means remote employees or third parties can access and service OT devices without compromising the security of the network or the critical infrastructure it powers.
To download your full copy of the report, please visit Zscaler ThreatLabz 2023 Enterprise IoT and OT Threat Report.
Methodology
The research methodology for this report includes analysis of device logs from a multitude of sources and industry verticals between January and June 2023.
The report uses data derived from customer deployments that connect to the Zscaler global security cloud, which processes over 500 trillion daily signals and blocks 9 billion threats and policy violations per day, with over 250,000 daily security updates.
27, Oct 2023
Zimero Promotes Range of ‘Vrat-Friendly’ Ice Creams for Festive Fasting
Zimero, India’s newest destination for pure, authentic ice cream, is excited to introduce its mouthwatering selection of fast-friendly ice creams. These exquisite treats have been carefully crafted to add a touch of indulgence to the traditional fasting (vrat) experience during this festive season.
Fasting is a sacred tradition for many people during festive occasions. Zimero recognizes the importance of this practice and is pleased to offer a variety of ice creams that allow people to follow their dietary restrictions while enjoying the deliciousness of ice cream. These creative dishes are the ideal choice for those keeping fasts, harmoniously combining tradition and flavor.
A tempting variety of flavors are offered in this line, including Belgian Chocolate, Filter Coffee, Ghana Dark Chocolate, Jags ‘n’ Crunch, and Kesar Almond Pista. You can enjoy a decadent treat while upholding your traditions thanks to the adaptation of these delightful flavors to fasting requirements.
Filter coffee perfectly captures the flavor of South Indian coffee, while Belgian chocolate, with its creamy richness, offers a sweet indulgence. The Ghana Dark Chocolate offers a rich and potent chocolate experience, and the Kesar Almond Pista combines the nuttiness of almonds with the sweetness of kesar (saffron), creating a flavor that is utterly distinct and satisfying. The Jags ‘n’ Crunch ice cream is a unique and delicious mix of jaggery ice cream with walnut and cashew nuts, making for a sweet, sugar-free, and crunchy dessert treat.
Zimero’s founder, Shuchi Jain, highlights the company’s dedication to offering customers an unforgettable experience, saying, “At Zimero, we believe in making every moment special, and that includes the time spent during fasts. We curate our ice creams so that you can enjoy the flavors you adore while keeping your fasts.”
Zimero’s commitment to quality is unwavering in this unique collection. These ice creams were carefully made with ingredients that adhere to fasting regulations, ensuring their authenticity and purity.
Allow Zimero to participate in your vrat rituals as the holiday season draws near with its unique ice creams. These delectable offerings are available in select locations and online for your convenience.
27, Oct 2023
Virgin Music Group Unveils a New Global Leadership Team and Global Reorganization
Mumbai, 27th October: Virgin Music Group, the world’s leading partner to independent music companies and entrepreneurs, announces a significant milestone in its journey naming a newly appointed global leadership team.
As part of a global reorganization, Virgin Music Group integrates Ingrooves’ industry-leading global platform and patented marketing with Virgin Music, one of the world’s most iconic independent music brands, to offer independent artists and labels a full suite of global services, providing expertise that is unparalleled in the music industry. The company has already begun to integrate operations among the teams in 32 countries around the world, a process that will proceed over the coming months.
As the global independent music division of UMG, Virgin Music Group is expanding as a stand-alone organization, now under common Virgin branding, working within a proprietary global system that includes a unified infrastructure, platform, product suite, and team.
Here are the key points of this announcement:
Global Reorganization: Virgin Music Group will now be organized into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Emerging Markets. Each region will have dedicated leaders responsible for driving our presence and influence in their respective areas. Our centralized global leadership team will focus on maximizing the impact of marketing, commercial, and operational initiatives worldwide.
Brand Transition: Virgin Music (Label & Artist Services) and Ingrooves will now be known as Virgin Music Group, aligning our global branding and services. This transition will take place over the coming months.
Operational Integration: The company has already begun the process of integrating some operations, a transformation that will continue over the coming months.
Web and Social Transition: Our websites and social media accounts, including VirginMusic.com and Ingrooves.com, will evolve into Virgin Music Group branding. As a first step, both websites will temporarily redirect to VirginMusic.com.
Enhanced Global Solutions: The reorganization of Virgin Music Group provides independent labels and artists with broader, more flexible, and improved global solutions.
This reorganization builds on Universal Music Group’s (UMG) investment in creating successful long-term relationships with leading independent labels and artists worldwide.
VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP GLOBAL LEADERSHIP TEAM:
- Jacqueline Saturn is President of Virgin Music Group North America and EVP of Global Artist Relations.
- Thomas Lorain and Nick Roden, co-presidents of Virgin Music Group Europe
- Victor Gonzales, President of Virgin Music Group Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula
- Nathan McLay, Managing Director of Virgin Music Group Australia & New Zealand
- Michael Roe, Managing Director of Virgin Music Group Africa, Middle East, and Asia (AMEA),
- Jay Blomquist, Chief Technology Officer
- Jeremy Kramer, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing
- Joy Larocca, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- Liz Morentin, Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Brand Strategy
- Matt Sawin, Head of Global Product Strategy and Operations
- Nina Rabe-Cairns, Head of Global Growth Strategy
- Zack Gershen, Executive Vice President of Global Commercial and Digital Strategy
All members of the global leadership team will report directly to Virgin Music Group Co-CEOs JT Myers and Nat Pastor.
This exciting development signifies Virgin Music Group’s commitment to delivering enhanced music services on a global scale. We look forward to an even more dynamic and successful future, standing strong as a dedicated partner to independent music companies and artists worldwide.
27, Oct 2023
CMS Info Systems reports 25 Percent PAT & 15 Percent Revenue YoY growth in Q2’FY24
Mumbai, 27th October 2023: CMS Info Systems Limited, India’s leading business services company offering banking logistics and technology services, announces its results for Q2-FY2024.
Q2-FY2024 Consolidated Financial Performance:
| Revenue
INR 544 Crore YoY Growth: 15% |
Adj. EBITDA*
INR 157 Crore YoY Growth: 15% |
Adj. PAT*
INR 92 Crore YoY Growth: 25%
|
Adj. PAT Margin*
17% YoY Growth: 130 BPS
|
Q2-FY2024 Segmental Performance:
Cash Logistics Business: Managed Services & Technology Solution Business#:
| Revenue
INR 361 Crore YoY Growth: 11%
|
EBIT
INR 95 Crore YoY Growth: 18% |
| Revenue
INR 206 Crore YoY Growth: 26% |
EBIT
INR 39 Crore YoY Growth: 23%
|
| #Including Cards Services. | |
Q2-FY2024 Operational Highlights:
- New business wins of INR 500 crore in the quarter, H1’FY24 new business wins now at INR 650 crore in Managed Services
- Business points for Cash Logistics at 129,000, up 12% YoY
- Phase 1 of cassette swap roll-out on ~15% ATMs successfully completed
Commenting on the performance of the Company, Mr. Rajiv Kaul – Executive Vice Chairman, Whole Time Director, and CEO said, “Q2’FY24 is our sixth consecutive quarter with 20%+ YoY earnings growth. Our H1 revenue growth of 14% highlights the growth opportunity in the Banking and Retail sectors. Banks are focusing on expansion and refresh of their physical infrastructure, and we are seeing the organized retail category growing well post-COVID. Our consistent performance is testimony to our strong quality and execution of our order book.”
*Adjusted for share-based payment to employees. Calculation of Adj. PAT below.
| INR Cr. | Q2’FY24 | Q1’FY24 | Q2’FY23 |
| Reported PAT | 84.4 | 84.3 | 72.5 |
| Add : Non-cash ESOP Expenses
(Net of Tax) |
7.9 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Adj. PAT | 92.3 | 86.8 | 74.1 |
Results for the quarter ending September 30, 2023, prepared under Ind AS, along with segment results, are available in the Investor Relations section of our website www.cms.com.
Quarterly Conference Call:
The earnings conference call will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 12:00 noon (IST) to discuss the Financial Results and performance of the Company for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2023. The earnings conference call will be accessible from all networks and countries through universal access dial-ins +91 22 6280 1342 / +91 22 7115 8243 also accessible here. Further, the analyst(s)/institutional investor(s) presentation will be submitted to Stock Exchanges and hosted on the Company’s website at www.cms.com.
27, Oct 2023
75% of recruiters anticipate that skill-based hiring will take centre stage in the coming 18 months: HirePro report
Bangalore, 27th October 2023: With competition increasingly rife in the search for top-tier talent, resumes have traditionally stood as the fulcrum on which companies have relied to fulfill their recruitment efforts. HirePro, a leading AI-powered recruitment solutions firm, recently conducted a market study to examine the current landscape of resume-centric hiring. The findings highlighted in the report ‘No Resumes Please: Paving the way for talent-centric recruitment’ reveals the limitations of using resumes as a primary tool for hiring.
According to the report, a job posting approximately receives 250 applicants, but less than 10 get shortlisted. This means recruiters are significantly overburdened with resumes vis-a-vis job openings. It highlights that job seekers often adopt a ‘spray and pray’ approach, with a candidate approximately sending out 110 applications. As a result, overwhelmed recruiters may rush their decisions, leading to substandard hires and genuinely qualified candidates getting unintentionally overlooked.
The report uncovers that despite including a plethora of skills on their resumes, many candidates lack substantial professional experience or subject-matter expertise in those areas. A significant 56% of candidates claim proficiency in skills they have limited knowledge of.
Furthermore, the study highlights a concerning trend, with 85% of job seekers making false claims in their resumes, up from 65% a decade ago. The use of standard resume templates, ‘professional’ resume writers, AI tools like ChatGPT etc. exacerbate this problem. Consequently, recruiters have expressed their reservations on resumes, with merely 1% of recruiters relying solely on resumes.
Notably, the findings of the report reveals a trend where job descriptions are increasingly emphasising on behavioural skills, but this emphasis is not reciprocated in resumes. While a substantial 92% of job descriptions specify the need of behavioural attributes, only 38% of resumes actually mention these traits. Furthermore, while approximately 40%-45% of job descriptions mention behavioural requirements, a mere 6% of resumes mention behavioural attributes.
Over the past five years, recruiters have also shifted their focus areas while evaluating resumes. Five years ago, factors like job stability and keyword matching were considered critical, with a weightage of 49% and 39% respectively, which have since declined to 33% and 27% respectively.
Presently, emphasis is placed on individual assessments, which has surged from 26% to 49% over this period. Although relevant experience continues to be important, its significance has decreased from 63% to 48%. Additionally, with the emergence of generative AI and autocorrect tools, the importance given to formatting and grammatical accuracy has reduced from 19% to 14%.
The report also brought to light that making a career switch proves to be near impossible in a resume-centric hiring process. A substantial 60% of recruiters are hesitant to consider candidates who lack relevant experience, even if they possess certifications.
Consequently, 92% of career switches predominantly happen within the same organisation, as resumes play an insignificant role in such cases. In this scenario, candidates proactively acquire new skills, undergo training, earn certifications, and embark on a new career path in pursuit of new challenges.
However, they encounter a formidable barrier in the form of resume-based judgements when they seek new organisations as many recruiters assume that past experience is a reliable indicator of future success.
Commenting on the report, Mr. S. Pasupathi, Chief Operating Officer of HirePro, said, “Recruitment in today’s job market demands a fresh approach. Relying solely on traditional resumes has proven to be a precarious endeavour, carrying a high risk of leading employers astray. Surpassing resumes, skill assessments has become a more reliable tool in the recruitment process and prove to be a highly effective and efficient approach”.
“Candidates selected through skill assessments outperform their counterparts in their roles. Notably, our report highlights a substantial difference in performance review scores when comparing individuals hired through skill-based assessments with those hired through traditional methods. This serves as a strong indication that customised skill-based assessments are essential for bridging the skill gap in most organisations”, he added.
Within the IT sector, employees selected through assessments outperformed those who had been hired through traditional methods by a whopping 73%. An analysis of performance evaluations across different industries favoured skill assessments, showing that such candidates outperformed others significantly – 64% in GCCs, 97% in BPO (Support) and 46% in Start-ups.
The report also highlights how resume-centric hiring can lead to biases. With traditional recruiting methods, 44% of recruiters reported encountering biases related to factors such as the candidate’s educational background, prior experience, gender, location, and shared connections. However, by focussing exclusively on individual skill assessment, a reduction of 78% has been observed in the biases associated with conventional approaches.
Furthermore, resume-based hiring proves to be a tedious process for recruitment teams. Around 52% of interviewers find the most challenging aspect of recruitment to be screening candidates from a large pool of applicants. The integration of assessments has led to an 82% reduction in effort. This has streamlined the process as candidates with the highest skills rise to the top of the funnel, resulting in significantly improved success rates in subsequent rounds.
The report clearly indicates that the recruitment trend gaining credence is an emphasis on skills rather than pedigree. Presently, 90% of recruiter searches are skill-centric. While education and experience are used as initial screening criteria, assessments play a decisive factor in the hiring process. A significant 75% of recruiters anticipate that skill-based hiring will take centre stage in the coming 18 months. This year itself, 65% of recruiters have already prioritised skills over work experience. Companies are realising that candidates’ employability is chiefly determined by their skills, prompting a shift in recruitment procedures.
The study is fortified by the analysis of 40,00,000 candidate resumes, 3,000 job postings, a survey involving more than 3,000 hiring managers, and feedback from over 500 corporate customers.
Key takeaways from the report:
For each job listing, there are 250 candidates, only 10 get shortlisted.
75% of candidates don’t get past the initial screening, and 30% don’t get a chance despite having the required skills.
56% of candidates claim skills in their resume, that they barely know.
85% of job seekers make false claims in their resumes, up from 65% a decade ago.
70% of recruiters go through resumes but mostly rely on interview/candidate interaction.
92% of job descriptions specify behavioural requirements, and 38% of resumes mention behavioural traits.
92% of career switches happen within the organisation.
60% of the recruiters are not likely to consider candidates with non-relevant experience, even with certifications, while only 6% consider candidates for junior roles.
44% of recruiters observe bias in traditional recruiting methods.
78% reduction in recruiter biases after implementing assessments.
Candidates perform better when chosen via assessments as against traditional methods. Analysis of performance statistics proves such candidates exhibit a better performance – GCC (64%), startups (46%), IT services (73%), and BPO support (87%).
90% of searches by recruiters focus on skills; 75% of recruiters believe that skill-based hiring will be a trend; and 65% of recruiters now depend more on skills.
27, Oct 2023
McDowell’s No.1 Soda brings on the festive cheer in its latest TVC Yaarir Gaan
West Bengal, 27th October 2023: This festive season, McDowell’s No.1 Soda unveiled a TVC titled ‘Yaarir Gaan’ featuring popular celebrities and real life yaars Anirban Bhattacharya, Priyanka Sarkar and Arjun Chakraborty. In today’s fast paced world where connections often feel strained and distant, ‘Yaarir Gaan’ is a heartfelt tribute that emphasizes the importance of friends coming together and unlocking newer possibilities.
The film is based on a trio of childhood friends who share fond memories together celebrating countless festivals over the years. However, this year, their most cherished tradition takes an unexpected twist as one of their friends commits to spending the festival with some elderly people. Realizing the intention behind it and determined to keep the tradition alive, his two friends come together to celebrate and spread the festive cheer.
‘Yaarir Gaan’ beautifully captures the true essence of friendship and the sheer joy derived when friends come together, they can unveil a world of limitless possibilities. The film immerses us in the heartwarming dynamics of friendship, demonstrating that it’s not just about companionship but about the transformative power of togetherness.
Speaking about the campaign Varun Koorichh, Vice President Marketing at Diageo India, “Festivities at this time of the year often bring friends together and rekindles yaaris. It is also that time of the year when you are hopping through the city with your best friends and making memories for a lifetime. We believe that during these festive days, friendship has the power to unite, inspire, and uplift one another. The song, Yaarir Gaan, created in partnership with SVF is a beautiful celebration of this connection friends share. The song and the story woven through it is a tribute to the enduring strength of these bonds and the joy they bring during the festive season.”
27, Oct 2023
Hyderabad gets ready to celebrate festivities with Amazon Xperience Arena
Hyderabad, 27th October,2023: Amazon.in announced that Telangana has shown remarkable growth witnessing 2x demand for televisions and an increase of more than 60% in 5G smartphones being sold during the festive period, making it one of the top-performing regions in the TV and Smartphone categories for Amazon India. Fueled by financial schemes such as no-cost EMI, the state is amongst the top regions that continue to see customers opting for premium smartphones and large-screen televisions.
Customers in Hyderabad also got a glimpse of Amazon Great Indian Festival 2023 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad with the ‘Amazon Xperience Arena’ (AXA) on 26th October. This one-of-a-kind showcase gave media, influencers and customers a chance to experience their favourite brands and products while participating in fun engagements. Across the seven interactive zones at the event, customers competed to win exciting rewards and a chance to interact with their top brands across categories.
Commenting on the occasion, Ranjit Babu, Director, of Smartphones and Televisions, Amazon India said, “We’re thrilled to introduce the Amazon Xperience Arena to our customers in Hyderabad. The city of Nawabs is amongst the top-performing metros for the Smartphone and Television category. As the people of Telangana continue to shop for their favorite products during the festive season on India’s most preferred, trusted, and loved online marketplace, we’re humbled to see continued growth in the region. With the customer’s inclination increasing towards premium smartphones and televisions, we at Amazon India continue to provide attractive affordability options such as no-cost EMI, bank discounts, Apay rewards, cashback, and exchange offers, along with an array of the best-in-class products from all major brands.”
Here are some trends across Smartphones and television businesses observed on Amazon.in across Telangana and Hyderabad:
Smartphones
- 5G upgrades are on an upward trajectory: In Hyderabad, the share of 5G smartphones grew to over 65% in October 2023 during the festive period (vs 40%+ in 2022)
- Smartphone business experiencing significant growth: Double-digit growth has been witnessed across Hyderabad in the 10-20k smartphones driven by 4G to 5G upgrades
- Premiumization as a trend continues: The above 30k price segments have also seen double-digit growth due to affordability options such as No Cost EMI and Exchange offers
- Brand preference: During the ongoing Amazon Great Indian Festival 2023, top bestseller models across Hyderabad are iPhone 13, OnePlus Nord CE 3 lite 5G, iQOO Z7 Pro 5G, OnePlus 11R 5G, Samsung Galaxy M14 5G and Redmi 12 5G
Televisions
- Telangana has set a new record: In 2023, Telangana emerged as the fastest-growing market on Amazon India in Q3 2023 and consistently ranked #1 with Hyderabad being amongst the top 3 cities for TV sales pan India
- Demand for large screens on the rise: Customers are showing a stronger preference for 4K TVs. There has been a massive growth in the demand for large screens mostly 55 inches & above. QLED and OLED TVs have seen an exceptional growth of over 2x YoY in both Telangana and Hyderabad in 2023. One in three customers benefited from zero-interest EMI options provided on Amazon
- Brand preference: Sony, Samsung, and LG are the most preferred brands among customers in the region
Telangana is a key market and has played a vital role in Amazon’s growth in India. Amazon’s largest corporate building in the world is in Hyderabad, India. The Hyderabad Campus is Amazon’s first owned office building outside of the U.S. Over the years, Amazon has invested in creating a robust physical infrastructure across India and in Telangana. Today, Amazon has six large fulfilment centres and one sortation centre covering more than 1.75 lakh sq. ft. of processing area along with nearly 70 Amazon-owned and Partner Delivery Stations and more than 1800 ‘I Have Space’ stores. Amazon has close to 50,000 sellers from the state selling everything from apparels, sports goods, hosiery items, consumables, and a lot more on Amazon.in. These investments in infrastructure are helping sellers from Telangana deliver to customers from across the country and are also creating employment opportunities across the state.
Recently, Amazon.in announced ‘Extra Happiness Days’ – Co-powered by realme narzo. Customers shall have an opportunity to buy the latest products across categories from top brands with great deals and offers. Amazon Great Indian Festival – ‘Extra Happiness Days’ brings special deals and offers from sellers on the widest selection of Smartphones, Televisions, Gaming components, Large Appliances, Audio, Health and personal care products, Gourmet food, Baby products, and more. Customers will get special offers on a wide range of products from realme, Nvidia, Haier, Pedigree, Ferrero, Hershey’s, Pampers, JBL, and Gillette among others.
Amazon.in, in collaboration with Digit, has also introduced the “Smartphone Genie” product finder (Experience is live only for mobile app users), a new interactive widget aimed to simplify the way consumers make informed smartphone purchase decisions, ensuring they buy the right smartphone tailored to their unique needs. With the Smartphone Genie, finding the perfect phone becomes a breeze, thanks to a streamlined four-step process.
27, Oct 2023
Ahmed bin Saud Al Qasimi inaugurates Ni Met Recycling, marking a milestone in the Emirate’s vision for a circular economy
Ras Al Khaimah, 27 October 2023: Sheikh Ahmed bin Saud Al Qasimi, Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah’s Public Services Department, inaugurated the state-of-the-art stainless-steel and non-ferrous scrap recycling facility Ni Met Recycling.
Present at the ceremony were Anil Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of Ni Met Recycling, Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, RAKEZ Managing Director, and other senior officials from various entities, to witness the opening of the cutting-edge establishment. The facility boasts an investment of around AED 40 million and spans a vast area of 29,900 m2 within RAKEZ’s Al Ghail Industrial Zone.
Ni Met Recycling adopts a comprehensive approach to recycling, covering not only stainless steel but also ancillary metal scraps. With a primary focus on recycling stainless scrap, low and high nickel alloys, chrome, molybdenum, and various other recyclable metals, the company plays a pivotal role in sustainable resource utilisation. Their commitment to environmental responsibility extends to the global market, as the final recycled products find their way to numerous end-users, particularly in regions like India, Europe, and various Southeast Asian countries.
This commitment to sustainability goes hand in hand with Ni Met Recycling’s dedication to contributing significantly to Ras Al Khaimah’s and the UAE’s broader sustainability and environmental goals. The company’s vision aligns with the UAE Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative, emphasising the transition to a circular economy. In doing so, Ni Met Recycling not only benefits the global market but also plays a crucial role in contributing to the UAE’s ambitions for a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future.
Mr Shah stated: “Ras Al Khaimah is witnessing rapid development; in such a short period of time, the Emirate, with the support of RAKEZ, has achieved remarkable progress and prosperity in this region. Ni Met Recycling is proud to be a part of this journey, contributing to the circular economy and aspiring to become one of the largest manufacturers in the region, producing quality products for export worldwide.”
“The decision to establish our recycling facility in Ras Al Khaimah was influenced by various factors, including the availability of large industrial plots and the streamlined support provided by RAKEZ. The efficient processes and timely issue resolution by the economic zone played a pivotal role in the swift establishment of Ni Met Recycling’s operations,” he added.
Ramy Jallad, RAKEZ Group CEO, said: “At RAKEZ, we are committed to fostering growth, innovation and sustainability. Ni Met Recycling’s inauguration in Ras Al Khaimah, coinciding with the UAE’s Year of Sustainability, and its preparations for hosting COP 28, is a clear testament to our shared vision and commitment to a sustainable and prosperous future. The company’s decision to establish its facility here in Ras Al Khaimah underscores the strategic advantages our emirate offers. We are genuinely excited about their long-term prospects and the potential they hold to significantly contribute to the continued growth of our region and its sustainability goals.”
With a vision to bolster the UAE’s green recovery, Ni Met Recycling is planning to expand its recycling capacity and explore the possibility of setting up a melt shop, which would lead to the production of stainless steel in Ras Al Khaimah — an opportunity that has the potential to revolutionise the region’s industrial landscape and contribute to enhancing its sustainability.
