Luxury Homes in Demand as Bangalore Real Estate Market Soars: CREDAI

April 18 2023 The real estate market in Bengaluru has displayed an impressive resurgence in the financial year 2022-23. Despite the obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s real estate industry has exhibited a remarkable rebound.

The market has observed a noteworthy decrease in inventory while displaying an increasing demand for luxury homes. As per CREDAI Bengaluru, there has been a surge in the aspiration for larger homes while the demand for affordable housing has taken a backseat. Furthermore, the trend of ready-to-move-in properties has been gaining momentum among prospective homebuyers.

“Bengaluru’s real estate market has witnessed a significant shift towards luxury homes in FY 22-23. With a high demand for larger, ready-to-move-in properties, homebuyers are showing a willingness to invest in premium homes that offer comfort, style and luxury. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years, making luxury homes a lucrative segment for real estate developers in Bangalore,” said Bhaskar T Nagendrappa. President, CREDAI Bengaluru.

Despite the rising costs of construction, labor, statutory fees, and raw materials, the real estate sector has seen significant growth. The desire for home ownership has been on the rise due to the uncertainty created by the pandemic, resulting in a surge of investments in the real estate sector.

Post-pandemic, the psychology of home buyers has shifted significantly towards luxury homes. According to CREDAI, the uncertainty and upheaval caused by the pandemic have made people prioritize their mental health and well-being, leading them to seek comfort and security in their homes. This trend is not just limited to those with high disposable incomes, but also those with more modest budgets. The pandemic has made people realize the importance of having a home that can serve multiple purposes, such as a workspace, gym, and entertainment center.

“The pandemic has altered the way we look at our homes. People are now seeking more than just a place to live – they want a sanctuary that can cater to all their needs. Luxury homes are designed to offer just that – a space that is not just aesthetically pleasing but also functional and equipped with state-of-the-art amenities. The shift towards luxury homes is not just a passing trend, but a reflection of a broader change in the way people view their homes. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, but it is likely to continue even after the pandemic subsides,” he said.

The sector has also witnessed an upswing due to the drop in interest rates and higher savings among potential homebuyers. These factors have collectively contributed to the growth and sustainability of the real estate market.

“The pandemic has redefined the role of our homes, from mere living spaces to multifunctional sanctuaries. It has been transformed into hospitals, offices, restaurants, and entertainment venues. This shift, combined with reduced expenditures and increased savings, has empowered individuals to invest in their dream homes,” he said.

The IT/ITES sector has emerged as the major homebuyer in Bangalore. People prefer staying closer to their offices due to the city’s heavy traffic. The most sought-after locations by home buyers are xxx, xxxx, xxx. (Need the locations from CREDAI).

Kingdom of Dragons Experiential Project at Vega city Mall.

Bangalore 2023: For all the kids and adventure-seekers, here’s an opportunity to explore the Kingdom of Dragons. Embark on a magical adventure, the incredible indoor jungle display featuring life-size dragons along with dragon eggs. The Dragons spew simulated realistic flames with smoke, which adds to the total experience and gives it a natural look and feel. Movements include head, eye, jaws, natural roaring sound, the flapping of wings, and more.

Information boards are placed next to the dragons, this will help the kids gain insight and to be aware/ learn more about these fascinating mythical creatures.

Weekends are filled with fun activities and games, theme-based workshops, dragon walkabout, and more

The Kingdom of Dragon will be at Vega City Mall till 7th May 2023

That’s not all! Kidzania – Summer fiesta bring to you, Shop & Win. Shop at our Kids specific stores and get a chance to WIN Exciting gift vouchers and Wonderla tickets. Head down to Vega City Mall, to shop for the colorful dresses for your little ones now.

Urbanic India hosts a gala celebration exclusively with their #Urbanicsquad in New Delhi

India, April 2023: UK-based premium fashion brand hosts a one-of-a-kind celebration in Delhi to celebrate their community, the #Urbanicsquad. The media and influencers experienced ‘Good vibes and positivity’ through the Urbanic summer pool party event. The event was themed at the forefront of Urbanic’s ongoing campaign, ‘#UAre’.

The campaign highlights and encourages the influencers to spread positivity by displaying their creativity through content creation and overcoming unwanted online trolling for creators. Urbanic aims to raise awareness via the slang, ‘Kill’em with kindness’. The hashtag is open-ended to complete for anyone to overcome online hatred; such as #UAre- amazing/courageous/ high-spirited and more.

Urbanic presented the media and influencers with their new spring-summer collection. The collection is tailor-made for a memorable, fun, and comfortable summer, just like a breath of fresh, breezy air. The color selection is a mix of hues of pink and white, ruling the summer season at Urbanic. Summer staples like basic tees and denim are a highlight for the customers.

The event was well embraced by the #Urbanicsquad with over 300+ influencers, with names like Ishani Mitra, Shaily Srivastava, Shubhi Bharal, and more who had a glam time and promoted the campaign behind the event, #UAre. The event was a no-hate zone and allowed inclusivity among influencers, via their campaign.

Rahul Dayama, Head of Marketing at Urbanic India said, “ Urbanic has truly bridged the gap for our customers through trending collections at premium quality in India, it’s a pleasure for me to host a celebration that honors the #Urbanicsquad. The event is a reminder that Urbanic is part of a larger community that celebrates good vibes and positivity, which is the theme and highlight of our event. Creators celebrate Urbanic, while we celebrate them”

Vaishali Srivastava, or popularly known as Srivastav jig, a leading fashion and lifestyle influencer based out of Delhi mentioned, “I love Urbanic and the team so much, they literally throw the best parties. It’s such a fun and intimate event where you get to meet your friends and fellow creators followed by some really nice good food and music. The spring-summer collection this time was so nicely curated I can’t wait to try them on and wear it this season.”

Neeta Basnet, one of the first members of #Urbanicsquad mentioned, “I have been part of the #UrbanicSquad since my early days of content creation. I love the community, as it has supported me throughout my journey and helped me become my best self. I always look forward to our community meet-ups, as it’s always so refreshing to interact with new creators and spend time with them. This summer beach house was fun, I got to meet my friends again and preview the new summer collection, which I am thrilled to add to my wardrobe.”

Urbanic’s summer pool party was indeed a memorable experience for media and influencers and marked the celebration of their tribe, #Urbanicsquad.

Promising versatility like never before, Canon India launches All-In-One A1 size desktop Multi-Function Printer

India, 18th April 2023 – Canon, one of the leading digital imaging solutions companies, announced the launch of imagePROGRAF TC-20M, a compact 4-colour pigment ink all-in-one large format printer in India. Fitted with an A4 flatbed scanner, the best-in-class printer allows users to seamlessly make copies from cut sheets and roll papers. Designed to provide optimal productivity, the versatile printer is ideal for remote worksites, small offices and retail outlets.

Equipping users with enhanced capabilities, with this new printer, A4 documents can be easily enlarged and copied. Owing to such technological advancement, it is sure to prove to be very beneficial for printing educational material, official notices and promotional posters for retail outlets and restaurants. Furthermore, it also enables remote site offices to smoothly create large-format prints and copies of engineering drawings.

Sharing his thoughts on the launch, Mr Manabu Yamazaki, President and CEO, Canon India, said, “We are committed to advancing productivity and creativity with cutting-edge technology at Canon India and continuously strive to develop specialized products that cater to modern needs. Driven by our pursuit of innovation, we are proud to add the imagePROGRAF TC-20M to our expansive printer portfolio. Addressing the requirements of remote working professionals, the new space-efficient and multifunctional machine allows them to print, scan and copy large format prints, even without accessing a workstation. It is an all-in-one product that seamlessly fits into tight spaces to cater to the large-format printing industry’s versatile output requirements. We are confident that this revolutionary product will build upon the TC-20 series’ legacy and set new standards in the industry.”

Create a Variety of Output Applications Without a PC

TC-20M can easily enlarge copies of A4 documents to A3 cut sheets, A2 or A1 roll papers and even to the full width of roll paper. Portrait or landscape orientation of the output copies can be selected from the user panel easily. The ‘Repeated copy[1]’ feature enables an original document to be copied and printed repeatedly using roll paper. This can be used for various applications such as wrapping paper or retail store banners. By using the ‘Enlargement copy’ function, A4 handheld leaflets and handwritten manuscripts can be scaled to large-size posters to be used in travel agencies or food and beverage outlets. With the flatbed scanner, thick booklets or brochures can be converted to hard or soft copies for distribution. Apart from copy function, TC-20M supports JPEG & PDF file formats for direct printing and scanning with a USB memory stick without having to access a workstation.

Space-saving To Meet Users’ Needs

Similar to TC-20, TC-20M fits easily in tight spaces to meet various printing needs for remote worksites, small offices and retail outlets. With the front access of the printer, all daily print-related operations such as loading of paper, refilling of ink, and replacing of maintenance cartridge can be performed conveniently. The printer supports roll paper of up to A1 plus width and is equipped with standard auto sheet feeder that can load A3 or A4 cut sheets, hence making copies, scanning and printing can all be done on one machine.

Designed to Be Productive and Environmentally Friendly

For increased productivity, TC-20M is equipped with 70ml ink bottles for four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow & black) for continuous printing, which is useful for CAD drawings and posters printing. Every colour inklet on the printer is designed uniquely to prevent incorrect loading of ink bottles. With the large ink tank capacity system, it reduces time and effort when it comes to ink refilling. Vibrant red colour can be produced in lines and texts commonly used in technical drawings, graphics and flyers. Large format prints and long banners can be collected and held with optional desktop basket[2].

TC-20M achieves low power consumption of less than 26W during operation and 1.9W during standby. With high environmental performance, the TC-20M has been registered as a gold product under U.S. environmental assessment system EPEAT[3].

Customise Your Prints with PosterArtist Web V1.1

With the upgraded PosterArtist V1.1 web application, eye-catching posters can be designed and printed with TC-20M to cater to various needs. Users can choose from an expanded range of new and trendy design templates to create their own flyers, food menus and marketing collaterals to meet business needs or customise calendars and photo collages for personal use. With the variable printing function, users can customise text data through an excel sheet, which would be useful for printing certificates in A4 or A3 sizes, as well as posters for various purpose, up to A1 size on the TC-20M.

TEDxStLouis Hosts “Imagine That!” Talks

Live and in-person TEDxStLouis event spotlights St. Louisans’ stories.

(St. Louis, Mo., April 18, 2023) – TEDxStLouis – a nonprofit community of learners and change-agents in St. Louis – will host its “Imagine That!” talks on Sat., May 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Prep located at 425 S. Lindbergh Blvd. Tickets range from $35 for General Admission and $65 for a VIP experience.

The “Imagine That!” event will spotlight stories by St. Louisans that are real and not just from our imaginations. Speakers include:

• Dr. Nick Holekamp, Chief Medical Officer at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, “The Road to OZ: Taking Care Beyond the Bedside to get Better Outcomes for Really Sick Kids.”
• Michael Woods, President and CEO of Dream Builders 4 Equity, “Ownership is the Key to Freedom.”
• Regina Mossotti, Vice President of Animal Care at Saint Louis Zoo, “Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
• Amy Camie, Certified Clinical Musician, “Building Tolerance and Empathy Through Music.”
• “LandSpeed Louise” Noeth, Principal Storyteller at LandSpeed Productions, “How Fast Can She Go?”
• Kelly Pollock, CEO at Berges Family Foundation, “Creativity to the Rescue: The Power of Whole Brain, Whole Body Leadership.”

“Imagine That!” emcee is NFT artist and community builder Myrina Renaissance Otey-Myton. The event includes an interview with Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep, along with a live performance by music recording artist Dre’Co.

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. Founded in 2013, TEDxStLouis, formerly TEDxGateway Arch, provides the community with events, connections, and ongoing information. For more information or to register, visit http://www.tedxsaintlouis.org.

Valuable Sprint finishes for Repsol Honda Team pair

Austin, April 17, 2023: Joan Mir and Stefan Bradl collected important data over the course of the Americas GP Sprint race, taking 12th and 18th place respectively.

Saturday at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas brought the third weekend of the new 2023 MotoGP World Championship format, with morning Qualifying followed by the Sprint race in the afternoon. The 10-lap battle was again a thrilling affair over the 5.5 kilometers of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Q1 saw Mir again on the brink of passing through, the #36 setting the second-fastest lap of the session with just moments left on the clock. A final flying lap from Zarco knocked Mir out of the crucial top-two spots with Mir ultimately securing 13th on the grid for the Sprint and feature race.

From the head of the fifth row, Mir made a strong start and immediately began to battle with the likes of Oliveira and Morbidelli. After running wide early in the race, the Repsol Honda Team rider focused on his recovery and steadily picked his way back up the field to cross the line in 12th place. While Mir was aiming for more, the Sprint race did yield important information to continue his adaption to the Honda RC213V.

On the other side of the garage, Stefan Bradl continued to make improvements and qualified in 21st. The German then headed into his first-ever MotoGP Sprint race aiming to gather as much data as possible and avoid any unnecessary risks. This attitude saw Bradl achieve his target of finishing as the top Test Rider in the race as he crossed the line in 18th position.

Alex Rins scored his debut podium finish on the Honda RC213V as the LCR Honda rider put in an impressive performance to take second place – equaling his qualifying result. This is Honda’s second Sprint podium of the season.

Sunday will see the full 20-lap Americas Grand Prix, scheduled to start at 14:00 Local Time, take place. Both Repsol Honda Team riders are eager to return to the track and put their learnings into action and take advantage of today’s result.

Joan Mir (12th)

“The Sprint today shows us that there is still work to do, especially with being able to really ride how I want on the bike. But we are learning and improving all the time, this is the important point and what we are focusing on. It was really important to finish the Sprint today after two difficult and unlucky ones at the start. As a result, we have a better idea of what to expect tomorrow so we can prepare better. It was a really demanding race in this heat and with the conditions out on track.”

Stefan Bradl (18th)

“We arrived here with realistic expectations, and we were able to achieve what we set out to do. The Sprint is very intense, it’s what I expected and especially here it’s really demanding in this weather and with this physical track. I lost a bit of ground in the first high-speed braking, but I am not in a situation or a position to take a lot of risks. We were able to learn some good things about the bike for tomorrow and the objective is to again have another consistent race.”

Americas GP – Sprint Race

Rider standings

…

Cargill appoints Aparna Rao as India Leader for Cargill Business Services

Bengaluru, April 17, 2023: Cargill today announced the appointment of Aparna Rao as the India leader for Cargill Business Services (CBS), the shared services division of Cargill. As a part of her role, she will provide strategic leadership for CBS in India, spearhead critical initiatives, and drive a people-first culture. Additionally, she will be an integral member of the CBS global leadership team based in Bengaluru, India. Aparna takes over this role from Sumit Gupta, who recently transitioned to another leadership role within Cargill.

“We are thrilled to have Aparna joining us in our global leadership team. India is a strategic location for Cargill Business Services and a critical enabler of our Global Operations. As we continue to strengthen our shared services capabilities, Aparna’s extensive leadership experience in the shared services industry will further help us generate significant value for our employees and customers globally.” said Kim Skanson, President and Global Leader for Cargill Business Services.

With over two decades of experience managing large cross-functional teams, cultivating, and nurturing global teams, and leveraging distinct talent pools within multinational corporations, Aparna brings a wealth of knowledge to her role at Cargill. Prior to joining Cargill, she was heading Bayer’s Shared Services Center in Bengaluru and was a member of their South Asia country leadership team. Aparna has extensive expertise in finance, operations, knowledge management, and talent development and has previously worked with Monsanto Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Tesco HSC, and Hewlett Packard.

“I am thrilled to be part of Cargill which has been nourishing the world in a safe and sustainable way over the 156 years. I am impressed with the breadth and scale of Cargill Business Services in India with two centres in Bangalore and Gurgaon that provides a wide range of services including Finance, IT, Data, Analytics, Human Resources, Procurement, Transportation and Logistics, Trade Execution, Ocean Transportation, Compliance, Project Management amongst others. I am looking forward to working with colleagues and the organization to drive our strategic, people and culture priorities while continuing to position CBS as a Great Place to Work,” said Aparna Rao, India Head of Cargill Business Services.

Based in Bengaluru, Aparna holds an ACMA in Cost and Management Accounting from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI), Bengaluru, and holds a Commerce degree from Bangalore University.

Cargill Business Services (CBS) India is a global multi-function shared services hub providing services across multiple business functions and processes – finance, IT, source to pay, transportation and logistics, and HR. It currently operates out of two centers in Bengaluru and Gurugram and has over 3,500 employees.

5 car rental apps for that last minute Goa trip

When the Goa trip with your friends that has been on your bucket list forever is finally happening, spirits are sure to be high. One of the best ways to make that vacation more fun is by doing a road trip. Or even doing a self-drive after reaching Goa. And for that, renting a car is the perfect option. It comes without added commitments and is cost-effective.

Car rental services can be a practical choice especially if you’re making last-minute travel plans to Goa or want to explore the city without using your own vehicle. You may choose from a variety of vehicles, including hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, and luxury cars, through car rental services, giving you the freedom to find one that meets your demands and your budget.

Also, you can book a car through their user-friendly apps in a matter of minutes. It offers customer service that is available around the clock so that you may contact them in case of problems. In general, using a car rental service is a practical and economical method of transportation that gives you the opportunity to explore your destination at your own speed.

Zoomcar – With a large selection of automobiles and various rental options, Zoomcar is one of the most popular car rental platforms in India. The company offers hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, and premium automobiles available, and the app provides round-the-clock customer service. Zoomcar has also become India’s first self-drive mobility platform. With more than 10,000 vehicles in its fleet, Zoomcar is currently the market leader in the self-drive sector.

Revv – Another well-known car rental app, Revv, provides a variety of vehicles at reasonable prices. The app’s user-friendly layout allows you to book a car quickly. Revv is a new automobile rental company in India that provides a variety of options to satisfy all of your self-drive demands.

Drivezy – A peer-to-peer car rental service called Drivezy enables you to rent vehicles from nearby car owners. A variety of vehicles, including bikes, cars, and scooters, are available through the app, and you can book one in a matter of clicks.

Myles – The auto rental app Myles provides a variety of vehicles at affordable rates. You can choose from sedans, SUVs, luxury cars, etc., and the app offers 24/7 customer support.

Avis – A large selection of automobiles is available from the international car rental company Avis in India as well. The app’s user-friendly layout allows you to book a car quickly. Besides having pick-up and drop-off sites at all significant Indian airports and cities, Avis also provides 24/7 customer service.