बुधवार, 25 नवंबर 2020

Zaggle wins the best Fintech Corporate Innovation Program award at The ETBFSI Innovation Tribe Awards


Mumbai, November 26, 2020 (TGN): Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services was conferred the best Fintech Corporate Innovation Program award at The Economic Times BFSI Innovation Tribe Awards 2020. In its third edition, The Economic Times BFSI Innovation Tribe Awards recognize leading financial institutions, solution providers and Fintech companies that are helping in building a robust ecosystem for the financial services sector. 




Entries for the awards were evaluated by IBSI, a group company of Cedar Management Consulting International in association with ETBFSI. IBSI was set up in 1991 and has since been publishing cutting edge research consumed by various stakeholders in the financial space including bankers, investors and suppliers. 


Commenting on the success of the company, Raj N – Founder, Zaggle said, “We are indeed proud to have been recognized by the Economic Times for our contribution to the financial services space through our products and services. Innovation has been at the heart of all progress and we continue to strive for providing innovative support to organizations.”  


Speaking about the awards, V Ramkumar – Senior Partner, Cedar Management Consulting International said, “The evaluation of the participants in the awards was based not just on the services that have been provided, but also on the basis of the excellence that has been delivered and the impact that it has resulted in for the customers which include banks as well as the end customers.” 


Currently in its third edition, the framework for the evaluation of participants was originally designed by PwC by first identifying 16 categories to celebrate excellence and innovation in the Fintech space. The basis for the evaluation lies around 6 identified methodologies and framework elements associated with business impact, market growth potential, the degree of innovation, the applicability of the solutions, how does it really help in enhancing the overall ecosystem and the customer benefit perspective. 


105 Fintech companies participated in this year’s Innovation Awards which were ranked on the basis of the evaluation metrics with an eminent jury comprising of representatives from Banking, Technology, Private Equity as well as members from the Fintech space. 


About Zaggle:


Zaggle is an award-winning FinTech company digitizing spends to unlock value and drive business growth. Zaggle uses Deep Tech and Artificial Intelligence to provide platform solutions to businesses for expense management & employee reimbursements as well as for rewards & recognition. Additionally, Zaggle is working with a number of banks, other Fintech companies and networks to build a state-of-the-art open banking platform for small & medium size businesses (SMBs).


Zaggle works currently with three banks RBL Bank, IndusInd and YES Bank and works closely with VISA, RuPay and MasterCard Networks to craft these solutions and to constantly innovate to bring value to its users.


The company was founded in 2011 by Raj N, a serial entrepreneur and seed investor. The word ‘Zaggle’ stands as an antidote to ‘Haggle’. As a founder of the brand merchandising and corporate gifting company eYantra, Raj realized that customers were looking for choice and flexibility. When corporates started approaching him for a solution, he decided to tackle it with a platform on which the merchants, corporates and consumers could seamlessly interact - and this is how Zaggle was born.


Zaggle today has over 200+ employees, a presence in 10+ cities, 3500+ Clients, 10,000 merchants, and 4.5 million users. The Zaggle platform connects its customers through Expense Management & Employee Reimbursements and Employee Rewards & Recognition.


Zaggle’s platform solutions include:

  • Zaggle Propel: An easy to use system to manage all your reward programs from a single integrated platform to increase productivity, greater profitability and reduced attrition.

  • Zaggle Save: An all in one business expense management and employee reimbursements platform that helps businesses unlock value and helps their employees save taxes and manage their expenses better. 


Over the years, Zaggle has received several recognitions. Some of these include the following.

  • Best Prepaid Card of the Year at the Payments and Cards Summit, 2019

  • Best B2B Enterprise for Zaggle SAVE at the HYSEA Innovation Summit, 2019

  • Best IT Company at the HMTV Business Excellence Awards, 2019

  • Best Prepaid Card Solution at the IAMAI Indian Digital Forum, Jan 2019

  • Best Growth Strategy Award at the Ascent Awards, 2017

  • Best Service Provider at the Bayer Awards, 2016

World Record: Many Indian schools become CARTE BLANCHE Digital Schools 2020

 


Tech Avant-Garde, Microsoft set new benchmark for Indian schools with the CARTE BLANCHE DIGITAL SCHOOL 2020 GRADUATION

MUMBAI, 26 NOVEMBER, 2020 (TGN): Tech Avant-Garde (TAG), technology powered Ed-Tech company and Microsoft’s Global Partner in Education, is setting a new benchmark for Indian schools with the Carte Blanche – 2020 Digital School recognition. Select schools will be honoured with Carte Blanche Digital School graduationat a special function to be held post Diwali in November with the active participation of school trustees, principals, teachers, parents and children amongst various stakeholders.

The list of Carte Blanche – Graduating schools 2020: Litera Valley Zee School - Hosur; TCIS Bangalore, Sarjapur Road Bangalore; Arya Gurukul – Nandivali, Kalyan; The Blossoms School – Aligarh; Mathakondapalli Model School(MMS), Hosur; Cambridge Public School, HSR Extn. Bangalore; GS World School, Chikkaballapur; The Green School Bangalore; Huddard High School, Kanpur; Sri Aurobindo International School, Hyderabad; Greenfield Public School, Bangalore; The Orbis School – Keshavnagar, Pune; Lawrence High - HSR Layout, Bangalore; Mind Tree School - Ambala; Sunshine Worldwide School - Goa; Samsidh MLZS School - HSR Layout, Bangalore; Bunts Sangha RNS Vidyaniketan, Bangalore; Dr. Virendra Swarup Eduacation Centre – Shyamnagar, Kanpur; Oxford Grammer High School, Hyderabad; TCIS Bangalore – Whitefield, Bangalore; Carmel School, Bangalore; SJR Kengeri Public School, Bangalore; Little Aryan's – Kalyan; DAV Public School, Ambala; Samsidh MLZS School  - electronic city, Bangalore; Priyadarshini School – CBSE, Pune; The Regency Public School, Bangalore; St. Thomas School – Gopiganj, Bhadohi; Samsidh MLZS School – Horamavu, Bangalore; VLS International School, Bangalore; The Orbis School Mundhwa, Pune; Subbaiah Central School, Tirupur; Arya Gurukul – Ambernath; Jubilee School, Bangalore; Vagdevi Vilas - Marathahalli , Bangalore; Samsidh MLZS – Vidranyapura; Priyadarshi  School - Moshi; SJR Public School – HBR, Bangalore; Lawrence High School – Koramangala, Bangalore; St Thomas School, Gyanpur, Bhadohi; Cresent High School and Jr College – Pune; Samsidh Mother Tressa Intl School  - Kanakapura; Priyadarshini School – SSC, Pune; Florence Public School, Bangalore; St Mary School  - Kalyan; International School - Hyderabad; Clarence Public School, Bangalore; Embassy Public School, Bangalore; Samsidh Mount Litera Zee School  - Vellore; Auden Public School, Bangalore; Aryan Presidency, Bangalore; Royal Public School, Bangalore; SBBM Middle School, Ambala; Samsidh International School  - Vizag; Auden School, Bangalore; SJR Primary & High School, Bangalore; SDM TPP, Titilagarh  Odisha; St. Philomena's School, Bangalore.



The schools eligible for the CARTE BLANCHE DIGITAL SCHOOL 2020 graduation are those that have subscribed towards the MASP PRO / Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning Program (DTHL); wherein school teachers have been trained on Digital Teaching; where the school is conducting online classes daily for all grades; where teachers are MIE (Microsoft Innovator Educator) certified; and where teachers have trained the participants in the Knowledge L'avenir Conclave Webinars.

The benefits to the school due to Carte Blanche graduation are as follows: The school will be certified as Digital School - Carte Blanche 2020; The Management will be awarded with Transformist Certification; Principal will be awarded with Change Maker CertificationDTHL Coordinators will be awarded with Digital Catalyst CertificationKnowledge L'avenir Conclave presenter will be awarded with Adroit Mentor Certification;Teacher with digital skills will be presented with Empowered Educator Certification; Students will be presented with Connected Learner Certification; The parent will be presented with Participative Parent CertificationSchool will be eligible to become Microsoft Showcase School; Teachers who have given presentations in Knowledge L'avenir Conclaves will be trained to become MIE TrainersSchool will get six month's free Digital Fee Collection subscription from BBPS(Bharat Bill Pay System) on Efeeonline.

Dr. Kulbhushan Sharma President, NISA and Director SBBM Middle School, Ambala, says, "The Government should declare this year 2020 as the Digital Year for Primary and Secondary Education. Four lakh Budget schools in India need to create Smart Students of the 21st Century by Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning by empowering teachers who are the central figures. Prime Minister gave a digital vision and roadmap with Digital India long back and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 also continued the momentum for digital education and empowered schools. Parents cooperation and mindset is the key to success. We need all stakeholders including public and private players to come together to pool in for fulfilling the needs of children and their teachers in terms of digital devices and other elements. We would like to thank Microsoft and and Tech-Avant-Garde."

Mr. K. V. Vincent, Principal, Huddard School Kanpur, said, “Those who had got used to customary classroom teaching never imagined that they would reimagine themselves and their methodologies in a crisis or calamity. They not just overcame the crisis but also moved forward. This is a great effort by resourceful teachers. They took several initiatives and interacted with their teams. Teachers have done a wonderful job of coming out of their comfort zone; facing difficulties and tough times. We are happy that our school received the Digital School certificate and the Carte Blanche graduation certificate. We moved beyond expectations in terms of the digital transformation and holistic learning thanks to Microsoft and Tech-Avant-Garde.”

Mr. Ali Sait, CEO, Tech Avant-Garde, says, “India is the first nation in the world where educational institutions have fulfilled the requirement of Knowledge Age by becoming a ‘Connected Learning Community’. In history any nation or a society, which adopts modern education practices, becomes the most progressive society of the world.  India has the head start we hope it maintains the lead."

Mr. Krishank Malik - Director-IT - Arya Gurukul, said, “The future is all about hybrid merging physical and online teaching models. Now is the time to plan a long term foundation for the future of our children. Tech Avant-Garde’s platform eliminates fear as collaborative learning starts with digital connectivity. The CLC paves the way for Happy Teacher, Happy Child, Happy Learning! Everything is online --- Ganesh Chaturthi, Independence Day, Environment Day, Digital Admissions, etc." He added, “CLC can help us become part of the global world. We can adapt and adopt digital technologies, methodologies and mindsets. KLC has touched every educator and inspired him/her. It has exposed us to new 21st tools, empowered autonomous and collaboration. We all are now working as one cohesive entity. School teachers are becoming students and emerging as 21st century teachers.”

The principals and teachers had mixed feelings and emotions. Some like Ms. Priya Anand - Head of School - TCIS Whitefield, Bangalore,said that they were moving from darkness to light. Others said that after all the talk and fears, KLC had propelled them towards the much-awaited action of becoming digital citizens of the world. Yet others said they felt nice that they were not moving blindly in a digital world. And some others felt that they started the process of conquering many more digital learning frontiers. Some felt that every cloud has silver lining and COVID-19 had transformed caterpillars into butterflies. Most teachers felt that they were on Cloud 9.

Principals were happy that children in their schools had not missed a single class and had not been deprived of learning during the pandemic lockdown. They were happy that teachers had finally embarked upon the journey of becoming lifelong learners with digital classroom learning/ teaching. They were happy that digital tools were helping teachers forge new relationships with peers from across India and the world. Others felt that they were happy and relieved to do admissions online by building a robust ERP system. And finally, they noted that Parents had started writing letters complimenting schools instead of usual letters of complaints.

Education industry experts were happy that the customary classroom had transcended beyond four walls! They had never imagined that the pandemic crisis will lead to edu-warriors becoming resilient and overcoming the calamity into an opportunity for reimagining and reskilling! They lauded the great efforts and resourcefulness of Indian teachers and principals. They appreciated that teachers have done a wonderful job of coming out of their comfort zone and overcoming difficulties and tough times. They want them to build on the same do better in terms of being more effective, enjoyable and enlightening…

Mr. Deepak Khaitan of Sunshine Worldwide School Goa expressed that he was amazed watching teachers deploy the latest Microsoft tools and techniques. He wants them to forge ahead in the digital world. Goa is known throughout the world as a tourist hub and now its teachers will get connected to the global education community after getting digitally qualified and certified, he said.

Mrs. Saman Sherwani of Blossoms School, Aligarh, said, “Aligarh has always been the seat of progressive learning. KLC boosted the confidence of our teachers. Teachers are now exploring a new digital learning world beyond class walls and also textbooks using VR, AR and mixed reality.”

A Principal from Agra reminisced about how school teachers were stuck during pandemic but when this KLC program came, it got them all excited and they participated wholeheartedly. “Agra is known to the world thanks to the Taj Mahal but now our teachers are making themselves known to the world. The technological inputs is ushering in a new era of Digital Transformation and Holistic learning with MIE certified teachers becoming not just tech-savvy but implementing and executing digital classroom teaching programs.”

Dr. Sunanda Jettiof SDM TPP, Odisha, said, “We were apprehensive but thanks to KLC we feel connected to our peers in India and abroad. Puri and Kaling have always been the seat of learning and now with Carte Blanche Graduation, our schools and teachers have shown our progressive ways and how we are ahead of our times.” 

Ms. Brinda of St Thomas Gopiganj Kanpur.said, “Digital classroom training is now a necessity. Knowledge sharing has become easy thanks to technology. Microsoft has a robust syllabus, tools and techniques in education thanks to its global presence. It is bringing the world to Indian teachers. It is helping teach as well as assess students. It is helping upcountry school manage difficult challenges.”

Mr. Santosh Kannavali, Principal, Subbiah Central School Tirupur, said, “Microsoft ASPIRE school teachers learn great deal. The experiences at KLC comprised best practices --- teachers take great strides to becoming digital natives and innovators. As MIE-certified Microsoft teacher, CLC takes us global on a 24x7 basis. We can also do networking or scheduling or organising at a click of a mouse.”

Ms. Asha Shrinivas Reddy, Principal of Priyadarshi Moshi School, Pune, said that their teachers had always idolised Satya Nadella and becoming MIEs were a proud moment for them. In the beginning, they were nervous of whether they would be able to deliver the same quality as they did in traditional teaching. They have now decided to take it further for the benefit of students. The teachers got to know things, which they were not familiar with! They experienced cohesive learning being part of a global learning community. Now they were not restricted to same four walls but could explore the world beyond.”  

Young Principal from IT background Arockia Jerald MMS (Mathakondapalli Model School) High School Hosur (ISO 9001:2015 certified) said, “Our motto is ‘Liberating Creativity’. This journey of KLC urged us to liberate the latent creativity within our teachers and this led to many success stories despite trials and tribulations. Our teachers teamwork is praiseworthy. We are proud that our teacher Anamika brought laurels to our school. We thank our management for their continuing freedom and support.”

Ms. Rekha Sinha, Principal, Samsidh MLZS Horamavu Bengaluru, said that their journey of a digital classroom started three years back. “The pandemic provided a silver lining and enhanced the teacher’s digital learning process. They can now handle tech with much more confidence. KLC is a solid platform, which has boosted confidence. Getting MIE certified is a great achievement and teachers grown as a learning community. We are honoured to be part of this community.”

Mrs. Judith Singh, Principal of Cambridge High School Bengaluru, saluted the bravery of teachers, who are now adept at online classes. She said that the teaching staff now explored an elevated and enhanced teaching methodology. They learnt digital software at KLC and it was a great experience.”

Mr. Asif Daruwala Director Crescent High School Pune, said, “Teaching has now become more relatable to students. It’s a role reversal of sorts. Teachers have now become students. They can now give personalised feedback on students to parents. KLC and MIE training enhanced the versatility of the school and teachers. saving time and increasing efficiency. Everything now happens in real time.”

TAG started MIE Trainer training program for the teachers who were given presentation in the Knowledge L’avenir Conclave. This program will be conducted over a period of 12 days. The participants were trained on the topics mentioned below and guided on how to achieve badges on each topic from Microsoft Portal. Once the participants completed the MIE Trainer Academy course, they were guided on how to get certified as MIE Trainer. They were also trained on Presentation Skills & Digital Persona. This was a wonderful opportunity for teachers to get themselves qualified as MIE Trainers. 

Empowered Schools: The school in the Connected Learning Community is education’s home base, operations center, and data center.  It is where teachers and students meet, discuss projects, establish learning goals, solicit help from one another and embark on new missions of discovery and creativity.  These schools have embraced technology and made the organizational changes necessary to use it effectively. Schools can continuously improve and provide efficient service: With a ubiquitous network, enterprise software can help schools track inputs -- such as finances, procurement, inventory, schedules, human resource information and student demographics -- and outputs, such as performance information on pre-determined benchmarks and goals.

With better management information, schools can make better decisions. However, such data management requires an organizational commitment from the highest levels of leadership. Schools support teachers, students, and families and reorganize to take advantage of technology. Using technology, schools encourage teachers to experiment with team teaching, longer class periods, experiential learning, or other pedagogical models.  Such organizational change can unleash the power of teacher and student creativity. 

Administrators must ensure that teachers are equipped with the information resources that they need such as just-in-time information on students, local and state standards, lesson plans and content reviews.  Administrators must also ensure that parents have the information that they need such as on-demand, convenient access to student grades, absences, learning goals, school projects and other information

TAG became the first company in Indian education sector to partner with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conceptualized system, for online payment of fees in schools and other educational institutions. Due to the pandemic educational institutions are experiencing two issues - one is to transform their teaching learning process the other is the fee collection process. TAG fostered Efeeonline is collaborating with Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS) to enable digital fee payments. Efeeonline is a bespoke management system, which helps educational institutions to transform their legacy manual fee collection system to a digital system. The fees can now be paid from anywhere, any place or on any device.

Today about 18,000 schools are uploaded on this platform for fees collections. TAG has an MOU with NISA (National Independent School Alliances), which has 55,000 school as its Members; and TRESMA (Telangana Private School Association), which has 9,000 Members Schools. The above associations have mandated TAG to transform their member schools into a Connected Learning Community (CLC) vision of UNESCO. TAG and ICICI Bank, Axis Bank are collaborating to give unique solutions to schools.

TAG is helping the Government of India in its efforts to promote digital classrooms, digital payment mode throughout the country through the BBPS mechanism for enabling contactless and digital payments through NPCI’s integrated, accessible and interoperable recurring payments services to consumers and parents via digital bank channels as well as through a network of agents and bank branches. One single step of onboarding on BBPS makes any school discoverable and accessible on all BBPS enable channels, including BHIM, UMANG, Banks website, all major UPI enabled Apps and Wallets. This enables parents to pay education fee easily from their preferred Banks/Mobile Apps/Wallets.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) vide Circular no. CBSE/SECY/SPS/2016 has issued directions to the affiliated schools regarding collection of fees from students only online or through non-cash mode. Hence, all schools affiliated with the Board are advised to on-board on BBPS for to enable, safe easy and contactless digital payment of school fees.

On 5th September, TAG started the record-breaking Knowledge L’avenir Conclave (KLC) webinars in association with Microsoft, Knowledge Key Foundation, LYCEE Corp, Efeeonline and Roshini Social Schooling. Th­e largest congregation of teachers (5,000) took a ‑first-of-its-kind test and 3,750 of them became Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) certified in a single day (27th September)! Till 30thNovember, they will train 150,000 teachers from 72,000 schools with a student-teacher-parent population of 7.6 crore. Ali Sait-advocated ‘Carte Blanche’ schools are the new gold standard in delivery of virtual education and early adopters of the Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning Program. Th­e 4Cs of diamond equivalent of digital classroom teaching-learning in the future are the Change, Connected Learning Community, Conclave (Knowledge L’avenir Conclave) and Carte Blanche Graduation; and Certification for School teachers. TAG unveiled NEP-compliant Learning Management System (LMS) software called AZVASA, which helps teachers with STUDY, REVISE & ASSESSMENT modules. AZVASA Connect is a complete School Management Solution having Teacher - Student - Parent Connect in one platform. Schools undergoing Digital Training & Holistic Learning program to make the school & teachers future-ready, will be graduated in a ceremony is called Carte Blanche 2020 to a ‘Connected Learning Community’, which is a utopian concept and Shangri-La of education.

 

TAG fostered Lycee Corp to meet the needs of every educational institution to transform from the four walls of the classroom to a Connected Learning Community (CLC). In CLC, students, educators and parents have anytime, anyplace access to learning; Learning is relevant, individualized and personalized; Schools have information systems that support accountability and efficient management; Schools, campuses, homes, libraries, businesses and global resources are connected in a dynamic, collaborative learning environment. It’s 2020 Vision of UNESCO. The product Lycee- Cyber Academe was developed under the fostering program of Tech Avant-Garde. From the stable of Lycee Corp, Roshini launched Efeeonline-Bespoke Fee management system for educational institutions. Now, Efeeonline has a co-sell program with Microsoft called MASP Pro. Efeeonline has the following facilities: The ERP Platform: Using this facility the fees formats, receipts, dues and reports could be generated. Parents Dashboard: parents can pay the fees, get the fee receipts and can track the dues using this facility. Which is available online and as a mobile app on IOS and Android. E-Governance: Using this facility, the school administration can do realtime tracking of the online fee collection and settlements. Efeeonline is also available on Microsoft Aspire School Program offering as MASP PRO. This is a value-based offering, which has dual advantage - it enables digital teaching learning process and is also enables digital fee collections.ENDS

रविवार, 22 नवंबर 2020

Thailand’s DITP conducts “Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay” Roadshow for the 66th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair in 2021

Ms. Supatra Sawaengsri, Consul (Commercial) and Director, Thai Trade Centre, Mumbai, with models displaying Thai silver jewellery at “The Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay” roadshow

MUMBAI,
  22nd NOVEMBER, 2020 (TGN): Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) with support from Thailand’s gem & jewelry delegates and the Thai Trade Centre, Mumbai, conducted the “Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay Roadshow” for the 66th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair (BGJF) to be held from 23-27 February 2021 in Bangkok for a very selective group of leading Indian jewellers. Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020 and unveiled Thailand’s Magic Hands global campaign aimed at gaining international recognition for the Thai gems and jewellery industry.

The DITP presented a magnificent Thai silver jewelry fashion show “The Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay” supported by Thai Silver Exporters' Association (TSEA) that showcased six brands namely Marvel Jewelry, Karen Silvery Design, Nakorn Gems, J. C. Jewelry, Patanaanunwong and Pat Holding. Social distancing norms were strictly followed for the entire event.

Ms. Supatra Sawaengsri, Consul (Commercial) and Director, Thai Trade Centre, Mumbai, with Mr. Colin Shah (Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council) at “The Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay” roadshow


“India is known as one of the top players in international gems and jewellery business from quality diamonds and colored stones to silver and gold jewellery. The DITP looks forward to welcoming India’s gems and jewellery players to join our BGJF platform,”


Ms. Supatra Sawaengsri, Consul (Commercial) and Director, Thai Trade Centre, Mumbai, in the centre along with models and Right to Left Mr. Rajesh Bajaj (Chairman, HZ International); Mr. Mehul Shah (Vice President - Bharat Diamond Bourse and Director Star Brillian); Mr. Colin Shah (Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council); Mr. Saiyam Mehra [COA Member, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), Convener, GJS (GJC's Gem & Jewellery Show); and Director Unique Chains]; and at “The Silverline Trade from Bangkok to Bombay” roadshow 

 Mr. Somdet Susomboon, Director General of DITP, said in a video message on this momentous occasion. He also added that the 66th edition of the BGJF has been rescheduled to be held at Challenger Hall 1 – 3 IMPACT, Bangkok, from 23 to 27 February 2021. The DITP will provide the event with a hybrid platform for all attendees both offline and online, as well as ensuring that the highest levels of safety, security and public health precautions are in place for the benefit of attendees.

Ms. Supatra Sawaengsri, Consul (Commercial) and Director, Thai Trade Centre, Mumbai, made a presentation on the 66th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair (BGJF) 2021 & Thai Silver Jewellery Seminar. She highlighted that in the previous 65th BGJF, Indians were the no. 1 visitors attending our show and no.2 in trade volume. Indian buyers who are interested in joining, should contact Thai Trade Center in Mumbai at thaitrademumbai@gmail.com for a smooth registration process and any other assistance. We can also arrange B2B meetings for interested Indian Companies attending this Fair, she said.   


 

The leading Indian delegates comprised Mr. Colin Shah, Chairman, The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC); Mr. Mehul Shah, Vice President - Bharat Diamond Bourse and Director Star Brillian; Mr. Saiyam Mehra, COA Member, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), Convener, GJS (GJC's Gem & Jewellery Show); and Director Unique Chains; and Mr. Rajesh Bajaj, Chairman, HZ International. Leading Trade Organisations of India present on the occasion were: Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC); Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB); The Mumbai Diamond Merchants’ Associations (MDMA); Lab Grown Diamond & Jewellery Promotion Council (LGDJP); All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC); Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India; and Jewel Maker Welfare Association amongst others. Atul Jogani Chairman of Indo-Thai Diamond Color Stone Association was also present and addressed the audience.




Mr. Colin Shah, Chairman, The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), praised the pro-active initiative taken by Thailand’s DITP in conducting a roadshow of huge magnitude in Mumbai post COVID-19. He highlighted the numerous initiatives taken by apex body GJEPC in fostering enhanced collaboration between India and Thailand in the gem and jewellery business. 

Mr. Mehul Shah, Vice President - Bharat Diamond Bourse and Director Star Brillian, said, “India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Thailand in November 2019 and celebrated the strong ties that bind India with Thailand and his government wants to bring them even closer by transforming India's Northeast region into a gateway to Southeast Asia. With the support of the Thai government, DITP is aggressively pushing export activities to India, Japan, the United States and the Middle East. BGJF exhibition promotes and enhances trade between India and Thailand and builds up great B2B relationships between Indian and Thai business people.”

Mr. Saiyam Mehra, COA Member, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), Convener, GJS,said, “Silver, the ‘democratic’ metal is well within everyone’s reach, is gaining ground across the globe because of two main drivers – it’s precious yet affordable. India and Thailand have many similarities and commonalties in their gems & jewellery trade. Indian silver jewellery exporters, like their Thai counterparts, have a strong handcrafting orientation, design database supported by quality manufacturing operations mostly by MSMEs. India and Thailand can collaborate and explore synergies to enhance their global exports.”

BANGKOK GEMS & JEWELRY FAIR (BGJF)

Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair (BGJF) is one of the world’s most renowned and longest-celebrated gems and jewellery trade fair in the industry. Organized on a biannual basis by Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) in February and September, the BGJF is regarded as a significant trading arena where all key players in the global gems and jewellery business can achieve their purposes of sourcing, trading and networking. The Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair is a globally-trusted marketplace for a wide range of quality products, extensive resources, and innovative designs. Following the great success of its previous editions, The 66th edition of the BGJF will be held from 23 to 27 February 2021 at Challenger Hall 1 – 3 IMPACT, Bangkok under the theme “THAILAND'S MAGIC HANDS the spirit of Jewelry Making” to showcase the skilled craftsmanship of Thailand’s manufacturers. Meanwhile, the fair aims to provide the greatest satisfaction to exhibitors, traders and visitors with first-rate facilities and services such as complimentary shuttle transport, interpreters, business matching zone, business lounge, Wi-Fi service, as well as exciting talks and seminars. 

SIAM SILVER SHOWCASE - FROM PAST TO FUTURE

An exhibition of contemporary silver jewellery from leading brands as well as a showcase of the history of silver jewellery in Thailand. The exhibition features the latest trends in silver jewellery that are popular among consumers in order to showcase the potential of Thailand’s silver industry, the talent of Thai designers, the intricate skills of Thai artisans, and the long history of silver jewellery manufacturing in the country. This exhibition is divided into two main zones. The first one is ‘The Past’ which presents the history of silver jewellery, silverware and neilloware in Thailand along with modern interpretations inspired by ancient techniques. The second zone ‘The Future’ portrays the future of the Thai silver jewellery industry, in which modern technologies are used to elevate the ancient know-how and to create new design solutions that match the needs of the post COVID-19 generation. This reflects the unique adaptability in crises of Thai entrepreneurs. This exhibition also features rare silverware, silver jewellery and nielloware masterpieces from the 66th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair exhibitors.

For more information about Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, please visit:

Website: www.bkkgems.com            

Facebook: bangkokgemsofficial

Instagram: bkkgemsofficial

सोमवार, 9 नवंबर 2020

Free career guidance services for students and professionals in COVID-19 times

Dr Amrita Dass, Founder-Director, ICS

Mumbai, 9th November 2020 (TGN):
To help students and professionals amid the current uncertainty, the Institute for Career Studies (ICS) has been providing a wide range of free career guidance services through its mobile app, ICS Career GPS.

Among the many changes triggered by the Pandemic, an important one is how we make our educational and career-related choices. These tough times have highlighted the significance of diversifying our career portfolio with suitable fallback options. It is predicted that 85% jobs that will be on offer in 2030 do not exist today. Many traditional specialisations will be replaced by new-age ones such as Molecular Gastronomy, Behavioural Finance, Cliodynamics, Cognitive Psychology, Genetics Law, etc, which require interdisciplinary education.

Mumbai, which has always been at the helm of career trends in India, is expected to, once again, reflect these changes before other cities. In this rapidly changing employment scenario, Mumbai has the advantage of its big pool of educated, upwardly mobile and well-travelled young workforce. In fact, all of Maharashtra, which has more than 40 million children under the age of 18 years, has a distinct advantage in staying ahead of times.

“We have guided numerous students and professionals globally over the past few months. We especially want to reach out to the youth in tier-II cities of Maharashtra like Nashik, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur,” said Dr Amrita Dass, Founder-Director, ICS, and Member, UP Government’s Steering Committee for implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Highlighting the need and scope of career counselling in India, Dr Dass said, “Our country has 50 million students in need of career guidance. A recent career awareness survey revealed that 93% Indian students are aware of just 7 career options although there are over 250. ICS Career GPS guides users to careers based on their interests. The deep-dive tests in the app enable them to shortlist their best fit careers. The user gets a career report and information about courses, campuses and career pathways, along with chat opportunity with our advisors – free of charge. The objective is to help the youth discover their dream careers.”

In August, the School Education Department of J&K had placed ICS Career GPS on its career portal to benefit students from the region. The app highlights the new subject combinations and careers that will emerge with the implementation of NEP 2020, and also facilitates easy access to experts for personalised counselling.

Additionally, ICS has provided over 1,000 free personalised counsellings since August 15, as part of a CSR initiative.

Established in 1985, ICS, with a global presence today, pioneered career counselling and guidance services in India, Bangladesh and the Middle East, benefitting over 3,00,000 students.


मंगलवार, 3 नवंबर 2020

Leena AI raises $8M in series A funding to revolutionize employee experience

 


MUMBAI, 03 NOVEMBER, 2020 (TGN): Leena AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered employee experience platform, today announced an $8 million Series A financing led by Greycroft to expand its go-to-market programs and accelerate product development. The round also included a personal investment from Adam Miller (Founder of Cornerstone OnDemand), Alan Patricof (Chairman of Greycroft) and Jim Moffatt (ex-Chairman/CEO of Delloite Consulting). In conjunction with the funding, Mark Terbeek, partner at Greycroft, will be joining Leena AI's board.

The funding will allow Leena AI to continue its momentum by helping the world’s top enterprises to modernize their legacy internal helpdesk systems to better their employee experience. Traditional internal helpdesk systems take longer for employees to get answers from HR teams. Leena AI leverages artificial intelligence to automatically answer repetitive employee queries in real-time and enables HR to better support employees. With Leena AI, businesses streamline their employee workflows while uncovering unmet employee needs and process gaps.


“Legacy internal helpdesks are simply not meeting the needs of the world’s top enterprises. They are not user friendly, are tough to deploy & lack intelligence. Leena AI Service Delivery suite changes that - bringing the consumer experience to enterprise employees.” said Adit Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Leena AI. “This investment will fuel our mission to elevate employee experience through AI-powered conversations and insights & become the Siri for enterprise employees.”


“Delighting employees is crucial in the battle for attracting and retaining world-class talent. In this era of accelerated remote work environments- satisfying key employee inquiries is even more critical. ,” said Mark Terbeek, Partner at Greycroft. “Leena AI has created a scalable AI platform that solves critical requests for all employees and provides them with a single access point for all of their critical HR needs. ”


Over the past 9 months, Leena AI has grown the team to 75 people and brought on more than 100 enterprise customers, including Lafarge Holcim, Abbott, Coca-Cola, AirAsia, Vodafone, Sony Pictures, etc. During this time, Leena AI added more than 150,000 employees to its platform and grew revenue 350%.


“Having worked with industry-leading companies on their digital transformation journeys for many years, I understand the importance of enhancing both the employee experience and engagement. Leena AI is uniquely positioned to empower mid-market and enterprise companies to transform their employee's digital experience, driving huge efficiencies, while maximizing employee engagement,” said Jim Moffatt.


“Every company regardless of size or sector is dependent on its people. Effective HR management is a cornerstone for productivity. Leena AI has created a conversational AI solution for HR teams that entirely redefines & elevates the employee experience. They've scaled incredibly quickly, serving over 300,000 employees globally across more than 100 companies, including blue-chip customers such AirAsia, Lafarge Holcim & Nestle. It's rare to see such explosive growth & high NPS. I'm thrilled to continue to support the incredible Leena AI team at this exciting inflexion point,” said Akhil Paul, an existing investor in Leena AI. ENDS

Gods of Dharmapuri (G.O.D), Zee5 Telugu Original Web Series celebrates One Year anniversary

 


India, November 3, 2020 (TGN): Gods of Dharmapuri (G.O.D), a critically acclaimed and popular Telugu web series premiered on Zee5 OTT platform has entered a successful one-year completion. A first of its kind Telugu web series, produced by talented Radhika Lavu, Ellanar Films takes the regional OTT content a notch higher with its gripping saga of power struggles set in Dharmapuri, near the Andhra and Karnataka border.

Premiered on October 23, 2019, G.O.D is still amongst the top 3 Telugu shows on its streaming platform Zee5 with 60% season engagement and most views. Currently, Zee5 hosts a handful of Telugu content and G.O.D has maintained its position and viewership even after 11 months of its release. Additionally, its subscriptions increased by 50%, showing great interest from the viewer's end.



It has received rave reviews and gained huge praise from its viewers.  The show has been dubbed in multiple languages and has seen extremely positive engagement levels. The overall engagement level of the series was 60%, and most viewers watched more than one episode at a go.

G.O.D is a fictional political drama set during the 1960s - 1970s. It is the journey of a man who is struggling to make ends meet for his family, migrating to the mining town of Dharmapuri for a better future and chronicles how they become the most powerful family of this fictitious town.  It has received accolades for its narrative style which is bold and subtle, with stellar camera work and performances. It is also laced with masterful music which provides the thrill that the powerful storyline commands.

Radhika Lavu, Producer, G.O.D says, “It is an absolutely gratifying moment for the whole team of G.O.D and I must extend a big thank you to all our viewers. It has been an enriching journey filled with immense learning for me. I’m extremely happy about hitting a milestone as a filmmaker in the regional market. The one-year success of the first season of G.O.D is a testament that quality content is always appreciated by the audience. We’re excited to take this a notch higher with season 2 and our success gives me more confidence to continue creating content like this and tell more enthralling stories.”

Recently, the sixth edition of Young Entrepreneurs Summit & Awards 2020 by BW Business World recognised and awarded Radhika Lavu, Founder of Ellanar Films as one of India’s Most Enterprising Young Minds.

Even during the crisis time, Radhika Lavu was unleashing her creative mind and has been working on several other projects like television commercials and OTT content. Simultaneously, she is working on a riveting and soulful historical drama series which is something to look forward to in the coming months.

About Radhika Lavu

Radhika Lavu is an established film producer with over 10 years of experience in the field. She has studied filmmaking from Goldsmiths College, University of London to understand the finer details of film making professionally and promotes a production house under the banner Ellanar Films. Her experience extends to a variety of domains, she has made 100+ documentaries for the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, creating advertising concepts and content for reputed brands like Golden Harvest and Big Bazaar. Her most recent accomplishment is Gods of Dharmapuri (GOD), a Telugu web series streaming on Zee5 digital platform, which she produced.

About Ellanar Films

Ellanar Films is a Hyderabad-based production house that caters to all kinds of viewers and creates documentaries, web series, corporate films, ad films, short films, feature films, brand films and digital stories

Website link: http://www.ellanarfilms.com/

About Gods of Dharmapuri (GOD)

Gods of Dharmapuri (GOD) is a Telugu language crime drama that provides thrills and jolts at every point along with compelling character arcs that only get better with each episode. It has received accolades for its narrative style which is bold and subtle, with stellar camera work and performances. It is also laced with masterful music which provides the thrill that the powerful storyline commands. A Telugu first of its kind, it takes regional web series a notch higher with its gripping saga of power struggles set in Dharmapuri, near the Andhra and Karnataka border.