Archive: March 1, 2021

Business World, News

The future of Interior design industry – A paradigm shift in 2021

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Director, #Mr. Vipul Solanki, #NAFDI - School of Interior Design

By – Mr. Vipul Solanki, Director, NAFDI – School of Interior Design

The design challenges of the 21st century manifest itself unambiguously in the halls of design schools, where the Generation Z is coming of age. The pandemic has mutated everything for the global populace. Its impact has compelled people in every industry to arch and evolve in real-time. The very ways in which we live, work, learn, and even design have altered dramatically during the days of the crisis. In many ways, the fluctuations are here to stay. The interior design industry is nothing but leading the gateway for change by embracing the salient issues of the day. Right from where technology fits into contemporary curriculums and how students are finding their place in the professional world to novel ways of comprehending about diversity in interior design programs have been rethinking their roles. For educators and students pursuing interior design, there is a need of envisaging new design education approaches.

The below mentioned futuristic trends heralda paradigm shift in the domain of design education in the country:

Industry’s macro-vision and co-creation skills: Theindustry’s present scene necessitates budding students and freshers to emphasize on “how to do it”, rather than “what to do”. Comprehending this process and being proficient of networking with the right people and experts will help offer a sea of exposure to students. This set of skills will reinforce the co-creative capabilityrequired for a designer. To enable designers to build sturdy structures alongside forging strong relationships, the industry must focus on specialization and fragmentation of knowledge. By adapting to the formation of collectives and the process of collaboration,the sector of interior design education can help students in sharing spaces, facilities and ideas all under one roof.

VR as a social experience: Virtual reality is integrally immersive and hence is suited to design representations. A multitude of web platforms facilitates users with a dual experience, wherein they can get access to three-dimensional environments from their desktops as well as with their VR goggles. In case of a design studio, this technological application presents an exciting opportunity enabling students to network in the spaces they have planned in real-time.

Hybrid learning reinventing design education:Blended learning combines the best of face-to-face and online experiences to produce improved learning outcomes.Its potential for change is huge in transformingthefoundation of architectural education, be it in various design disciplines like industrial and interior design, architecture or planning. Following a hybrid approach to learning will facilitate in creating a learner centred experience that is tailored, relevant, and engaging. Through this way educational skills can be augmented by lending student centred approaches to meet the diverse pedagogical requirements of learners.

3D scanning lending a flip to the traditional classroom: This technology has become accessible over the past few years. Scans are an instant way to intercede between physical and simulated environments, enabling students to scan architectural and design models and environments. The choice of uploading these models to the web lends another level of interactivity and share ability. For instance, these models can be viewed on the web, in VR or unified into real-time game engines.

Chart your career creatively: Considering the educational needs of the post-pandemic era, any run-of-the-mill interior design programme won’t make the cut for students. A course that comprisesof cutting-edge perspectives that is savvy to the changing paradigms will be more sought-after.The interior design courses offer a 360-degree shift in public and private design spaces enabling graduates to choose from a plethora of opportunities in the professional market. These consist of roles such as: interior architect, design educator, independent researcher, product designer, sustainable interiors consultant and landscape designer to name a few.Design entrepreneurs are required to apply rigorous R&D processes that encompassdetailed market and user research. Right from budding entrepreneurs to large MNCs, interior design has nowbecome a key part of the way businesses are being performed.

Working in amalgamation with the other edifices, the world, of interior design education can truly be a game-changer in the edification domain.

Business World, News

NSE triples its investment to INR 900 crores in technology infrastructure over last 3-4 years

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) investing heavily in its technology infrastructure on a continuous basis over the last 3-4 years, has almost tripled its annual cash spend on capital and operational expenses on technology to approximately INR 900 crores.

NSE’s tech initiatives are driven by a strong technology workforce of approximately 1500 plus employees and vendor staff.

NSE has a robust, resilient, secure and fault tolerant technology infrastructure supported by best in class equipment from vendors like Cisco, HP, Dell, Hitachi, Checkpoint, Palo Alto, Oracle etc. and aided by able technology service providers like TCS, Cognizant, and Wipro.

NSE has a strong technology governance process in place wherein the technology infrastructure is reviewed on a regular basis by committees like Standing Committee on Technology which has technology experts and also multiple types of audits by various firms/institutions with specialized expertise.

Multiple transformational projects have been completed and are ongoing to ensure that our systems continue to be robust, resilient, secure and state of the art.

NSE is the largest derivatives exchange in the world by volumes and it has a demonstrated track record of handling significantly high volumes despite a challenging external environment over the last one year due to the pandemic without any impact on trading.

Equity and equity derivatives segments’ daily average volumes have gone up by 122% and 79% respectively in 2021 compared to 2019. Average order messages per day have gone up by about 200% during the period across all segments with a peak load of over 6.5 billion order messages in a day. Further, NSE and NSE Clearing have also implemented multiple structural changes over the last two years like interoperability in a seamless manner.
NSE constantly endeavours to provide a glitch free environment. However, the complex technology architecture has significant external and vendor dependencies in terms of connectivity and hardware. It is pertinent to note that globally, in the last two years, there have been trading outages in many markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany and UK.

NSE has a culture of innovation and proactive investment in technology.

NSE’s proprietary technology infrastructure is at par with the best in the world in terms of size, scale and throughout.

The standards set by NSE in terms of market practices, products, services and technologies have become industry benchmarks.

Business World, News

Mumbai’s western suburbs prove to be an attractive realty hotspot

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Director, #Head Sales, #Marketing & CRM, #Mr. Bhasker Jain, #Mr. Bhushan Nemlekar -, #Mr. Himanshu Jain – VP-Sales, #Satellite Developers Private Limited, #Sumit Woods Ltd., #The Wadhwa Group

The changing landscape of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has ensured the rise of prime residential hotspots and one such area that has undergone transformation in terms of infrastructure development over the years and emerged as a great investment avenue is the north corridor of Mumbai’s western suburbs. A spurt in demand of residential projects from Malad to Dahisar has garnered increased enquiries from homebuyers due to excellent social infrastructure and improved connectivity.

Commenting from the investment point of view, Mr. Bhushan Nemlekar, Director, Sumit Woods Ltd. said, “This belt in the Western suburbs fulfils the expectations of homebuyers of all categories with its wide range of options for residential properties. The area is all set to witness more developments for providing a world-class living experience for its citizens. The property prices too are expected to increase once the Metro connectivity commences. The investors too are looking up to this booming marketplace for safeguarding healthy returns.”

The Government is focusing on a number of projects to develop infrastructure across the MMR. Mumbai Metro Line 2 and Line 7 are soon set to improve the region’s connectivity manifold. Line 7 will connect Dahisar East to Andheri East which is one of the prominent business districts in Mumbai. Line 2A will connect Dahisar to DN Nagar in Andheri West and a further extension of this Line 2B will connect DN Nagar to Mankhurd. This will make it a breeze to travel from the north corridor to the Western and Eastern Suburbs of Mumbai. The upcoming Coastal Road planned between Nariman Point and Kandivali along with the Metro connectivity is touted to enhance the connectivity nexus and real estate prospects around the north corridor of Mumbai’s western suburbs.

Commenting on the advantage of western suburbs, Mr. Bhasker Jain, Head Sales, Marketing & CRM, The Wadhwa Group says, “The area has witnessed rapid development in the last two decades both in terms of residential growth and population. This is fairly evident with several large residential pockets coming up in recent years. The north corridor of the western suburbs has drastically evolved with the help of infrastructure reforms and demand driven by the homebuyers. The upcoming Metro lines and the easy access to the Western Express Highway will be going to be a game-changer for this location in terms of driving demand. Also, its proximity to commercial centres and the upsurge in new projects with modern lifestyles & amenities continues to generate interest amongst the prospective residential buyers.”

Over the years, the belt has witnessed rapid development of social and physical infrastructure consequently the demand for residential properties in the area has also thrived. Apart from being close to nature, it has access to some of the finest social infrastructural facilities such as reputed schools, colleges, health facilities, shopping malls and ample entertainment options. Although affordability highlights the residential market of this region, the demand for premium housing has also seen an upsurge in recent years. Also, it is noticed that many corporates have moved towards the suburbs to places like Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon, Malad, etc. Therefore the extended western suburb stretch is quickly becoming a sought-after place for employees to shift base too. High-rise apartments and integrated townships are growing in large numbers. Thus, house buyers of Mumbai in search of spacious house have found an alternative destination in this pocket of MMR.

Commenting on the locality, Mr. Himanshu Jain – VP-Sales, Marketing & CRM, Satellite Developers Private Limited said, “The western suburb of Mumbai is becoming an epicenter of realty transactions, both for end-users and investors. Called as the suburb with innumerable opportunities, it boasts everything from connectivity to social infrastructure to an urban lifestyle that is driving both end-users and the developers equally to it. With so much infrastructure development coming in this area, it definitely promises to be a safe bet for your real estate investments.”

The western corridor from Kandivali to Mira Road also has numerous location advantages such as it is linked to Mumbai via the Western Express Highway and the suburban rail network; to Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan via Ghodbunder Road and to areas in Gujarat via the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway. The domestic and international airport is also 30 minutes drive from this region.

Due to its superior connectivity and so much to offer, the real estate market in this region is poised to grow by leaps and bounds in the near future. More builders are now catering to the rising demand in the region and spurting the growth and increasing the buying options for buyers.

News

4 boy sailors from Yacht Club Foundation selected to join the Indian Army

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #a jubilant Lt.Gen. KS Rao, #Mr Malliah Battu a senior officer with the BC Welfare, #Suheim Sheikh President of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad., #VSM India’s first circumnavigator

Hyderabad……..Just a few months ago, in November 2020 Nayeem Pasha of Kriya Sangh Society, an NGO operating out of Rasoolpura Hyderabad received a call from the Yacht Club of Hyderabad Foundation asking him to select a few children from his locality. Little did Nayeem predict that one of his wards Manideep Perakatta a student of Alpha Omega school, would be selected to join the Army Boy Sports Company with the Madras engineers Regiment at Bangalore at the tender age of just 10.

Son of migrant parents from Orissa who works as construction labour at Rasoolpura, Manideep and his family are all excited to see the little boy selected into a dream career with his future secure in both the sport of sailing and a proper career in the Armed forces.

Rasoolpura has produced about 20 state and national medals and 3 National champions with most of the sailors from Udbhav School , a school supported by the IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Association.

Army Boy Sports Company is a collaborative venture of SAI with the Indian Army, The main objective of the Scheme is to make use of the good infrastructure and disciplined environment of the Army for training boys in the age group of 8-16 years of age, to achieve excellence in sports.

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule school boys Nitin Nayak from Achampet, Nagarkurnool and Abiram Kavarala from Wanaparthy and Harshavardhan Yerra a Swearoe of Vikarabad were also selected by the Indian Army through a stringent process across 5 days that tested their sailing skills, fitness ,bone structure and track record at the Nationals.

Nitin Nayak, 13 was recently declared the under 18 Telangana Junior State Champion beating many with greater experience while he is still in the Sub Juniors. Son of Jabbarlal and Kamala small farmers from Nagarkurnool, Nitin was jubilant to be the first to be selected and at the top of the fitness measurements.

“My coach Suheim Sheikh has been telling me to work hard on my fitness and I did a lot of stamina and strength training in my spare time when not helping my parents at our farm, as due to Covid my education had come to a halt and the training has proved to be of great benefit during the selection”, said a beaming Nitin

“I have been working hard and was happy to be on the National Sub Junior Squad but being selected for the Army will now make my life and it was all really worth the effort for the past 3 years. When I joined the Yacht Club of Hyderabad I saw a few of my seniors Vijay Sabavath , Durga Prasad and John Yourulu in the Army and Navy teams but I did not even dream that I too would be part of those teams. I will miss the Yacht Club and I am very grateful for the intensive training and support provided to me by the Yacht Club Foundation“, said Harshavardhan Yerra, a son of small farmers from Chilkur.

Abhiram’s mother Bharathi, a homemaker, had tears in her eyes that she couldn’t believe their son got an opportunity to get trained by the Army and absorb him into the force in future. Shekhar, his father being a Karate trainer, always dreamt that his sons must get into either the Police or Indian Army. 40 of the boys whom he trained in Karate have been selected as police constables. Last year Shekhar broke his leg and had to confine to home, But he continued training from home. When his son had to go to Bangalore for the selection, he had to borrow money to meet the expenses. Now that he is selected they are very happy.

Nithin Nayak’s mothe Kamala too had tears rolling down her cheeks to express her joy that their little lad Nitin Nayak not only got an opportunity to get trained and pursue his sailing career, but also will get an opportunity in future to serve the army. Nitin wanted to become an Olympian.

Almost all the four boys got selected come from a very humble background. And none of their parents are educated. There were no bounds to their happiness. That achieving it at such a very young age.

“The Yacht Club Foundation told us to keep our expectations low at the army selections and we did not expect two of our seven boys to get through with flying colours “, said Mr Malliah Battu a senior officer with the BC Welfare.

“Getting 4 of our boys selected when only 8 were chosen out of hundreds of applicants is very satisfying and a clear indication that our training and systems are well established. Dignity Through Sports is our motto and this is surely another step in exactly that direction “, said Suheim Sheikh President of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad.

It is a very proud moment not only to the sailors, their families, Yacht Club, but also to the Telangana State Government, People of Telangana.

“As President of the Telangana Sailing Association it makes me very proud that 4 of our Telangana boys have made it “, said a jubilant Lt.Gen. KS Rao, VSM India’s first circumnavigator.

The Army picked up 4 out of 41 competed in the process.

This is not the first time. The Yacht Club has already produced 12 such sailors, who have already secured a place in Indian Army and Navy. The selection process which would have taken place last April got postponed due to the pandemic. The Navy is visiting the Yacht Club tomorrow for the preliminary selections. In another six months one more round of selection may also happen by the Army, informed Yacht Club.

The Yacht Club of Hyderabad Foundation selects its sailors from amongst marginalised boys and girls and trains them to National and International levels. They have sent 6 girls under their Naavika program to the Atlantic Week at Portugal Spain and to Oman for the Asians in 2019 and 2020 and have now provided for full fledged supplementary school teaching Sailing, Fitness, Karate, Yoga and Maths , English and Science.

This is a very unique program and the biggest Sailing School in the world with 140 boats and more than 600 sailors trained with 70 medals and about 12 boys recruited to the armed forces.

Business World, News

Covid 19 ups demand for efficient last mile delivery and intra-city logistics

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments

From making remote working a norm to bringing about a radical shift in the way consumers shop, COVID 19 is being regarded as a black swan event for the global economy. Even as traditional businesses took a hit due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, the changing landscape acted as a major catalyst for digital transformation across business and delivery models. COVID 19 accelerated the shift towards digitization as dependency on online services grew exponentially overnight. The Indian population was acquainted with the concept of last mile delivery or doorstep delivery over the last few years, whether it is food delivery or shipments from e-commerce platforms. However, the situation emanating out of the pandemic has given a boost to mass adoption of these services.
Notably, small businesses which make up the backbone of India’s economy still have limited digital presence. It is estimated that only 20% of small businesses offer online services currently, leaving a large untapped market and infinite possibilities for the growth of logistics sector. The demand for last mile delivery services is likely to grow significantly in the coming years as greater digitization of businesses takes place.

There is already a surge for on-demand and instant deliveries services across the Indian urban space. With logistics and delivery service providers brimming with orders, a strong need has been felt for technology-based instant last mile delivery models that can not only improve delivery speed but also optimise utilisation of resources,thereby improving unit economics. In fact, efficient last mile delivery has become a key determining point as far as customer satisfaction is concerned and all kinds of businesses are looking to provide last mile delivery.

The on demand delivery industry is already disrupting traditional markets by adopting a full cycle approach to three essential components of a delivery experience: Ordering, pick-up and delivery.This will receive a further boost as businesses adapt to the COVID induced changes.

The e commerce surge and emerging need for last mile delivery

Evidently, e commerce was the most notable beneficiary of the COVID 19 induced transition of the economy. As more people preferred the safety of home delivery over personal buying, e commerce platforms were flooded with orders. In India, where a large section of the population had still not adapted to e-buying, the post COVID period witnessed a rise in first-time-ecommerce-users. So overwhelming were the initial months of the 2020 lockdown that leading e commerce platforms such as Big Basket , Amazon and Grofers had to prioritise orders and request customers to bear with delays.According to market research company Forrester Research, e commerce sales jumped by 7-8 per cent in India in 2020. Even though this jump was much less than in the US or Chinese markets, it does display a trend towards a shifting consumer behaviour. Growing e-commerce sector is creatingmore opportunities in intracity logistics and changing customer preferences with respect to shopping and delivery.According to KPMG research, 80% of customers today look for same-day shipping. In fact, 50% of shoppers are actually willing to pay extra money for faster delivery. As consumers become accustomed to extremely quick delivery experience, offering shipping options will increasingly become a ‘need rather than a choice’ for retailers.

Efficient last mile delivery gains importance

“Last mile” as the phrase suggests refers to the final stage of delivery to the consumer which mostly happens from a point to another within a city. Often, while inter-city transportation has been efficient, the final stage delivery remains a challenge. This is where efficient intra city logistics and last mile delivery services are gaining prominence. Intracity logistics for enterprises is not just about delivering parcels in 30 minutes. It is about solving the actual business challenges.

It is about building capabilities to seamlessly execute movement of goods irrespective of scale and size.
Major e commerce players as well as small businesses are today looking to improve delivery time and experience as a critical tool to gain new customers and satisfy existing ones. Hyperlocal players are increasingly witnessing a rise in express delivery, next day delivery or two day delivery.Instant on-demand delivery is another relatively new focus area gaining increasing prominence in recent times. However, executing express deliveries and on-demand requires highly sophisticated logistics and last mile delivery capability. The relatively nascent logistics sector in India therefore needs to grow at a rapid pace to meet the rising needs of a digital economy. Clearly, an infinite space for last mile delivery services is emerging in India.

Harnessing Technology to overcome challenges in intra city logistics

Intra-city logistics providers that usually deal with instant and on-demand delivery requirements have a high degree of commitment to ensuring deliveries within the same day. This makes the entire chain of operations subjective to demand variability. Orders may suddenly surge from one part of the city, requiring quick identification and connectivity with an available delivery agent. Innovative technology is the bedrock of a system that efficiently matches the needs of demand and supply to ensure a seamless function together with optimisation of resources and positive unit economics.

Innovation-focussed startups like Pickkup are increasingly filling this void by harnessing technological innovation to create algorithms and systems that optimise the use of resources to the fullest while ensuring high degree of customer satisfaction. The potential of the industry is huge, with tech startups solving the logistics puzzle beautifully.

Business World, News

Autoflipz, the automotive aftermarket startup speeding in full gear

Mar 1, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Founders Harpreet Singh and Japjot Singh

Barely a month of its launch in Delhi NCR, the automotive aftermarket startup, AutoFlipz, is showing an impressive growth. More than 20 workshops have been registered under the brand and another 30 are expected by the end of this Financial Year 2021.

“The market acceptance for an organized and transparent aftermarket workshop has led us to expand our operations in Northern India within this financial year, which we were earlier planning in the second half of 2021”, says the Founders Harpreet Singh and Japjot Singh.

What sets AutoFlipz apart from the players in the market is the Artificial intelligence (AI) driven platform that provides seamless and transparent service experience, through a revolutionary system of live updates and car tracking via the app. The AI enabled app is the first in the auto aftermarket industry to provide the real-time and accurate information about the status of the car service at the workshop. This is helping to build the transparency and trust in the customer which is the driving force for AutoFlipz growth.

Another very important fact is the use of standardized automobile parts and lubricants, while keeping the cost to the customer minimum.

AutoFlipz is India’s First Network of Standardised & Technology enabled Car Care, Service & Repair Centres. It is on a mission to build a technology enabled chain of World Class Garages and provide seamless customer experience.

As people are still reluctant going to workshops for their repairs and other routine vehicle maintenance, AutoFlipz has also launched an application for door-to-door service. With AutoFlipz, your car servicing is just a click away. With a click, you can book the car servicing, have it picked up from your home/office, track it live, interact with the workshop owner and get the serviced car back at your place. The comfort, transparency and affordability of a genuine car service is what AutoFlipz promise.

AutoFlipz’s commitment to its customers about the safety of their car and delivering what they promise are two important pillars responsible for its growth in a short span of its existence. Their taglines goes as, “Apni Gaadi Samajh Ke”.

News

Haryanvi sensation, Sapna Choudhary in &TV’s upcoming crime-series, ‘Mauka-E-Vardaat’

Mar 1, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Sapna Choudhary

Sapna Choudhary

In &TV’s upcoming crime series, ‘Mauka-E-Vardaat’, now we hear that immensely popular and Haryanvi sensation, Sapna Choudhary will be a part of the show. &TV’s ‘Mauka-E-Vardaat’ is a riveting weekday crime series highlighting mysterious crime cases that will boggle the audience’s mind, compelling one to believe that the rhetoric ‘reality is stranger than fiction’. Returning to television after two long years, the singer-dancer says that &TV’s Mauka-E-Vardaat as the perfect show to make a comeback on Indian television. Sapna commented, “I am thrilled and excited to be a part of Mauka-E-Vardaat. I am returning to television after a gap of two years and with a crime-based show, which I feel not only a perfect comeback show for me but also the viewers will get to see me in a never-seen-before avatar. I will be seen giving a prelude into the most perplexing crimes in the show. Mauka-E-Vardaat is an anthology series featuring the most thrilling and most mysterious crime stories inspired from real-life incidents that will offer edge-of-the-seat excitement with the most unpredictable turn of events. In the last two years, I kept dodging projects that came my way as they didn’t excite me. What stood out for me in Mauka-E-Vardaat, apart from stories on unbelievable and inconceivable gruesome crimes, was the concept of female woman protagonist who will play an instrumental role in unravelling the mystery to these extraordinary heinous crimes. Crime series genre has always intrigued and enthused me as a viewer and now I have this wonderful opportunity to be a part of it. I do hope the show will hook the viewers with its gripping stories and I am eagerly looking forward for it to go on air. We have put in a lot of efforts and the show is definitely a winner, but now it is all up to our audience.”

Watch Sapna Choudhary in ‘Mauka-E-Vardaat’ premiering on March 9th, 2021 at 7:00 pm, every Monday to Friday only on &TV!

Business World

Mobility Startup Get My Parking To Power Mercedes Benz for Digital Parking Experience

Mar 1, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Get My Parking, #Mercedes-Benz

Bangalore: Get My Parking, a smart parking technology pioneer has been selected by Mercedes-Benz for providing better parking experience to their car users.

Get My Parking has announced its collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) to assist end-users in searching and navigating to an available parking lot.

Under its flagship Startup Autobahn India programme, MBRDI has been working closely with the IoT-driven digital parking platform, to embed this feature into all Mercedes-Benz cars equipped with Mercedes Me Connect, a digital link between the car and the end-user introduced in October 2019. This collaboration seeks to address the challenge posed by lack of accurate information and limited parking space.

Mr Rasik Pansare, Co-Founder, Get My Parking, explained, “As pioneers of smart parking in India, we always wanted to help urban citizens to have a hassle free parking experience. That mission is accelerated by this collaboration with Mercedes-Benz India wherein their car users can access detailed data on relevant parking lots across multiple interfaces. This partnership highlights our role as the bridge between parking and mobility industry”

Get My Parking has been closely working with the Mercedes Benz (India) R&D team to show their Indian parking data directly inside the Mercedes cars on the touchscreen dashboard as well as their mobile apps. Get My Parking has comprehensive digital data of 9000 parking lots in over 50 cities of India. This rich data capability enables it to help motorists discover relevant parking as per their criteria.

Besides this, Get My Parking has won the Geospatial Excellence Award at the GeoSmart India 2019 summit for pioneering effort in geo-mapping & digitising parking data.

Business World

Opportunities Infinite! APP Delhi-NCR to host the hybrid NAR-INDIA 12th Annual Convention in Delhi

Mar 1, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #NAR-INDIA Annual Convention

New Delhi: One of the most awaited real estate conventions in the country, the 12th NAR-INDIA Annual Convention will be held on 21st and 22nd March 2021. The event is being organized by the National Association of Realtors – India (NAR-INDIA) and hosted by the Association of Property Professionals Delhi-NCR (APP Delhi-NCR). Over many years, this prestigious event has been attended by thousands of national and international delegates and stakeholders (including real estate professionals, real estate developers, architects, financial institutions, etc.) and has offered them a platform to connect, collaborate, and educate all the industry stakeholders regarding the current challenges and future opportunities.

it’s a time of pride for the earlier team who has accomplished a lot in the last year and is being rewarded and complimented along with beginning of the tenure of a fresh team who is excited to take over the undone tasks with fresh goals and new ideas.

This year, the event is being organized on both the offline and online platforms (hybrid mode) to extend networking opportunities within the country and maintain proper social distancing in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Andaz Delhi, Aerocity, has been chosen as the offline venue for the event. It is especially relevant in the new post-COVID era where new and never-before-thought opportunities and avenues have emerged out-of-the-blue and have cemented their place in our social and commercial infrastructure. To explore, discuss, and share these ideas for the benefit of the entire industry and those connected with it is the primary aim and motive of this gathering.

For the first time, NAR-INDIA has added a virtual component to its convention for those who are unable to attend in person. In tune with the theme, it also offers a broader reach, flexible timing, and real-time engagement through live streaming. This could very well be the beginning of a “new normal” in our lives.

“For the first time in our history, we have added a virtual component to the NAR-INDIA Annual Convention. It will allow us to access a broader audience and reach out to people who cannot attend the event in person. The virtual component will also facilitate flexible timing and real-time engagement via live streaming. It will also ensure a longer shelf-life of content and education as we intend on keeping the valuable findings of the event available on the online portals so that those who may need such information can find it easily,” said Mr. Kshitij Nagpal, President, APP Delhi-NCR.

The attendees will get an opportunity to witness engaging and enlightening lectures, expositions, panel discussions, presentations, and brainstorming sessions, as more than 5000 realtors, developers, architects, investors, real estate heads, VCs, CAs, and other stakeholders will join the event from all over the world.

NAR-INDIA has established itself as an organization that aims to elevate the standards of practice of the real estate brokerage business to a global level where ethics, transparency, accountability, rule of law, and good governance prevail. Spread across 45 member associations in India with an overall reach of over 50,000 realtors, NAR-INDIA is acknowledged as the credible Voice of Realtors in India. NAR-INDIA strongly believes in the strength of relationships and continues to maintain international liaison with NAR Global.

At the national level, NAR-INDIA has signed bilateral agreements with CREDAI National, NAREDCO, and NICMAR and continues to maintain its relationship with the National Housing Bank (NHB) – the country’s housing finance regulator under the Reserve Bank of India, Government of India.

The convention is being hosted by The Association of Property Professionals, Delhi-NCR (APP Delhi-NCR), a non-profit society registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 in November 2008. The association is the Delhi Chapter of the National Association of Realtors-India. APP Delhi-NCR is the credible, common voice of real estate professionals in the Delhi-NCR region.

Talking about the significance of the event, Mr. Ravi Varma, Chairman, NAR-India, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped industries across the planet and we know that it’s unlikely that things will go back to normal soon. It is time for organized players like us to bring in and promote business practices that will benefit us in the long-term. The convention is being organized to bring businesses closer to each other and the consumer. With this event, hopefully, we will be able to broaden our perspectives and see the bigger picture of what the real estate sector in the country actually looks like. By bringing in veteran delegates from different parts of the country and different segments of the industry, I am certain that this event will enhance people’s knowledge about the industry and help them grow in the new normal.”

“The two-day convention will allow NAR-INDIA members a remarkable opportunity to network, meet fellow professionals from all across India as well as esteemed guests from different countries. The education programs and other sessions at the convention will allow the non-members to enroll in their respective city associations. We are extremely enthused about the event as it will provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of research in areas such as real estate finance, economics, appraisal, investment, and asset management. I am quite certain that all the attendees will be able to take away something of value from the event,” said Mr. Nitin Jain, President-Elect, APP Delhi-NCR.

Education

Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai concludes their two-day virtual B-school fest

Mar 1, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai, #two-day virtual B-school fest

Mumbai: Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai concludes their two-day virtual B-school fest on 28th February 2021. With participants from 30+ B-Schools and Colleges the event commenced on 27th February at 10.00 am.

Professor Bala V. Balachandran, renowned academician and Chairman – Great Lakes Institute of Management, announced the virtual fest ‘Latitude’ open and said, “The event themed ‘Meraki – Passion with Devotion’ marks the extreme enthusiasm and commitment of students, faculties and stakeholders to organize such a large-scale fest virtually, during these unprecedented times.”

Great Lakes Alumni, Prachi Garg, Assistant Vice President, Max Life Insurance Company, best-selling author and entrepreneur delivered an insightful session to the students which was followed by a talk from Ashok Venkatraman, Former Vice President-Unilever, and CEO, Star News. The event also witnessed various competitions, interactive sessions and quiz touching on various topics in the field of marketing, finance, operations, strategy, consulting, economics, CSR and Human Resources.

Establishing itself as one of the top B-School annual fests in the country, L’Attitude 13º05′ was sponsored by City Union Bank, Start-up 2021 and Picxele. Apart from the sub-committee events across all management domains, a stand-up comedy performance by Anirban Das also set the mood right for the onlookers. Great Lakes also hosted some star speakers such as Meenakshi Nevatia, MD Stryker, Narasimhan Eswar, Reckitt Benckiser to interact with the audience. The event concluded on 28th February with Dr. Suresh Ramanathan, Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai felicitating the participants and organisers.

About Great Lakes: Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai founded in 2004 by Padma Shri Awardee Dr. Bala V Balachandran is one of the premier B-schools in India. Great Lakes has, within a short span of 15 years emerged as a top-ranked business school. Great Lakes has 50+ full time faculty and 150+ visiting faculty including over 25+ international faculty from top global schools like Yale, Kellogg, Stanford, and Harvard. Further collaborations with world’s leading institutions like University of Houston, University of Bordeaux, Hongkong University of Science & Technology (HKUST), University of Missouri, Kansas, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago and Babson College etc., have helped Great Lakes in globally benchmarking its programs.

Great Lakes, Chennai, was accredited by Association of MBAs (AMBA), UK in 2014 and became the youngest B-school in India to receive this prestigious international accreditation. In 2015, Great Lakes, Chennai also received international SAQS accreditation and in 2017, its two-year PGDM program was accredited by National Board of Accreditation (NBA). For the years 2018 -2019, Great Lakes was ranked No.1 in India by Analytics India for its Analytics program. Great Lakes, Chennai was ranked 5th by Outlook India among top private MBA institutions, 9th by Business India, 15th by Business Today and 18th by NIRF among top 10 Indian B-Schools. It was also placed in Super League 2 category by Business Standard in the year 2019.

Led by exceptional academic faculty, steered by an outstanding advisory council, and buoyed by the international collaborations, Great Lakes has been constantly innovating to stay ahead of the needs of our businesses and community. It is the first B-school in India to offer full time specialization in Analytics and first to introduce AI and Machine Learning specialization.

Great Lakes has a 30-acre LEED Platinum rated green campus in Chennai and a second campus in Delhi-NCR. In the year 2019, Great Lakes Gurgaon campus received the prestigious AMBA accreditation and was also ranked among the top 5 emerging business schools by the National HRD Network (NHRDN) for the year 2018-2019. Great Lakes Gurgaon was also ranked 13th by Business World for its one-year program in the year 2019.

Great Lakes offers One Year full time MBA (PGPM) for experienced professionals, Two-year MBA (PGDM), Part Time Executive MBA for senior managers, and Weekend Executive MBA Program. Great Lakes alumni currently numbering 8800+, work at world renowned organizations both in India and overseas across 30 countries.