Archive: April 29, 2021

Business World

Government of Odisha approves 9 new industrial projects worth INR 2570.54 Crore at the 100th SLSWCA meet

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Government of Odisha

  State Level Single Window Clearance Authority of Government of Odisha, headed by the Chief Secretary, approves nine investment proposals generating employment opportunities to over 2755 persons in the state.

Bhubaneswar, 29th April 2021: The 100th meeting of the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) held today under the chairmanship of Shri Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, (IAS) Chief Secretary of Odisha, approved 9 industrial projects to the tune of INR 2570.54 crore in Metal and Metal downstream, Manufacturing, Plastic, Cement, Chemical and Food Processing sectors. These industrial projects are further expected to create employment opportunities for 2755 persons in the state.

The details of the nine projects for which in-principle approval was accorded by SLSWCA is listed below:

  • A 15 MTPA Beneficiation plant in two phases by M/s Amalgam Resources Private Limited against an investment of INR 882 crore to be set up in Joda, Dist- Keonjhar, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 702 persons.
  • A 3 MTPA Iron Ore Satellite Grinding Unit and 3 MTPA Slurry Pipeline along with return water pipeline by M/s Ardent Steel Limited against an investment of INR 80.5 crore to be set up in Banspal, Dist- Keonjhar, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 60 persons.
  • A Manufacturing unit for razor shaving blades of 45 crore units annual capacity and disposable razors of 3 crore units annual capacity by M/s Safe Lancet Engineering Private Limited against an investment of INR 100 crore to be set up in Khordha, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 90 persons.
  • An 8,75,000 MTPA capacity Integrated Carbon Complex in two phases by M/s. Epsilon Carbon Ashoka Pvt. Ltd. against an investment of INR 900 crore to be set up in Rengali, Dist- Sambalpur, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 600 persons.
  • A 120 TPD Chloro-Alkali Complex by M/s. Orient Paper and Industries Limited against an investment of INR 162 crore to be set up in Brajrajnagar, Dist- Jharsuguda, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 338 persons.
  • Grain-based distillery unit of capacity 200 KLPD for manufacturing of Ethanol and an IMFL bottling unit of capacity 1.50 lakh cases per annum along with 5.00 MW co-generation power plant to be implemented in two phases by M/s Coastal Biotech Private Limited against an investment of INR 200 crore to be set up in Gajapati, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 400 persons.
  • An Integrated common hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility by M/s Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. against an investment of INR 128.80 crore to be set up in Burujuguda, Dist- Rayagada, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 50 persons.
  • Manufacturing unit for production of AAC Blocks & Cement sandwich panels having capacity of 1,50,000 meter3 & 3240 meter3 per annum by M/s HIL Limited against an investment of INR 63.24 crore to be set up in Balasore, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 265 persons.
  • Manufacturing unit for production of Mattress & Fibre Pillows having combined capacity of 7,00,000 nos per annum by M/s Centuary Fibre Plates Private Limited against an investment of INR 54 crore to be set up in Khordha, which will generate potential employment opportunities for over 250 persons.

Odisha has considerably improved the production of steel and other metals and metal downstream materials over the years. These Industries are now supplying oxygen to various states amid an acute shortage of medical oxygen.

About Odisha:

Located on the east coast of India, Odisha has a coastline of 480 km along the Bay of Bengal. The modern State of Odisha was formed on 1 April 41936 but its history dates to the era of Kalinga mentioned in the Mahabharata. Over the years the state has maintained a unique cultural identity distinct from all of its neighbouring States. Traditionally, the State has been known for its mineral and mining strength. Since the turn of the millennium, the focus of the State has shifted to manufacturing and services industrial growth. The State Government has also taken several unique initiatives to ensure that a hassle-free and conducive business environment is provided to the investors setting up units in the State. This website is a one-stop location for all such information.

About IPICOL:

Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) is the single point of contact for all industrial investments in the State. IPICOL is responsible for devising the investment promotion, facilitation and aftercare strategy for the state of Odisha. IPICOL, as the investment promotion agency of the State of Odisha, undertakes all activities to promote Odisha as the investment destination of choice.

Business World, Health, News

Sushma Group organizes free vaccination drive for employees and families

Apr 29, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Executive Director, #Mr. Prateek Mittal, #Sushma Buildtech Ltd.

Sushma Buildtech Ltd., Punjab’s leading developer planned a free vaccination drive for all the employees and their families. The strength of the people came to over 400, and the company gave Covishield vaccine. The drive was from 26th April to 28th April, 2021.

Speaking about the vaccination initiative taken by Sushma Buildtech, Mr. Prateek Mittal, Executive Director, Sushma Buildtech Ltd. said, “Our country is going through extremely challenging times, and it calls for support for the mankind. We consider it our responsibility to give it back to the community by vaccinating our employees and their families, thereby building a chain of people who are stronger to fight against the deadly COVID-19 virus. We are all together in this, and with grit, support and kindness will come out of it soon.”

News

BLS International wins the multi-year National Identity Management Project for Nigerian citizens in UK

Apr 29, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #BLS International, #Joint Managing Director, #Mr. Shikhar Aggarwal

New Delhi: BLS International Services Limited, a trusted global tech-enabled services partner for governments and citizens, has partnered with File Solutions Limited, a data and digital enrolment service company, for a three-year contract to manage the identity management services for Nigerians in London, UK.

During the contract period, BLS will support the initiative by the National Identity Management Commission in Nigeria to enrol Nigerian citizens into the national identity database. The BLS centre in London shall soon issue National Identification Number (NIN) and General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to Nigerian citizens in the diaspora. The NIN to Nigerian citizens residing abroad would help them to process all forms of transactions like passport issuance, voter registration, opening a bank account, etc. A dedicated helpline and e-mail support services along with website will soon be available for any queries and tracking purposes. It is estimated that around 205,000 Nigerians live in the UK our of which about 97,000 Nigerians are in London.

Commenting on the win, Mr. Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International said, “We are delighted to support the initiative by National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria by assisting them to streamline their identity management services for Nigerian citizens. Our domain expertise and tech-enabled services will help in seamless roll out of the project and making it successful. We are delighted by strengthening our footprint with newer partnerships serving global as well as local client governments.”

BLS has managed similar projects in the vicinity of identity management and verification for Canada, Afghanistan and Egypt governments. In Canada, BLS is accredited by RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to carry out the police background checks; in Afghanistan, the company provides consular services for registration of Afghan nationals in Saudi Arabia and five gulf countries; while in Egypt, it provides Express Movement Certificate to Egyptians who want to travel to Schengen countries and Legalization of documents living in the diaspora.

 

Business World, News

3 reasons why renting a home is better than owning a home keeping in mind the financial aspects

Apr 29, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO at Reliance Home Finance, #Mr. Ravindra Sudhalkar

The home rental market in India has been gaining traction steadily over the years. Considering the high property prices in most metro cities, buying a house is still a financial undertaking which could prove to be taxing on the funding resources of an individual. On the other hand, renting a home within the city is still quite affordable, as annual rentals are just 1-3% of the value of the property. In this regard, one of the most attractive advantages that renting instead of buying a home is that an individual gets a wide choice of locations and the flexibility to relocate if needed says, Mr. Ravindra Sudhalkar, CEO at Reliance Home Finance.

Mr. Ravindra Sudhalkar, CEO at Reliance Home Finance

We would look at someone taking property on rent as an individual who wants to postpone the decision of buying a house immediately. If there are expenses envisaged such as funds for child education, which would erode the savings significantly or if one is not sure about the stability of a job and location, if one wants to start a new business in the near future, then taking a property on rent remain a good proposition. Similarly, people who relocate to a metro city, it is in their best interest to stay on rent for a year or two before deciding on buying a property. Ideally, as a thumb rule, a tenant should not spend more than 25-30% of the household income on rent.

Maintenance of the property, which can be recurring in nature is another cost factor. These can be property tax, regular repairs, and society maintenance charges among others. As a tenant, an individual doesn’t need to worry about such cost heads.

A better option could be that, if an individual decides against buying a home, they can instead invest the funds which would have gone into paying equated monthly installments (EMIs) into financial products for better returns, while staying in a rented accommodation that does not pinch their pockets as much as an EMI would do.

Technology

Infinite Computer Solutions to Acquire IBM Talent Acquisition Suite SaaS Products Including BrassRing™ on Cloud

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Infinite Computer Solutions

Enhances Global Talent Management Capabilities to Help Companies Accelerate Recruiting and Onboarding Employees

ROCKVILLE, Md., – Infinite Computer Solutions, a leading global technology company, announced today that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Talent Acquisition Suite. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close later this year were not disclosed.

Infinite is acquiring IBM Lead Manager, BrassRing, and Onboard. BrassRing supports more than 20 languages and provides candidate lifecycle management and employee onboarding for more than 240 customers, many of whom appear on the Fortune 500. In the past 12 months, the product was used to manage more than 60 million candidate submissions with almost 50 million recruiter logins and over 4 million active users.

“This strategic acquisition expands our portfolio of platforms and services with a market-leading product that accommodates the most complex recruitment and onboarding requirements,” said Sanjay Govil, founder and chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions. “With hiring set to scale up post-COVID, we saw an opportunity to provide our global client base a proven SaaS-based platform to attract and recruit candidates as well as onboard employees.”

Recent forecasts point to a jobs boom by the end of 2021, especially in industries like healthcare, supply chain, technology, retail, restaurants, telecom, and marketing, due to more businesses reopening, fiscal stimulus, and pent-up demand. Conference Board predicts that the economy is likely to add 5-6 million jobs this year 1 and the unemployment rate will drop well below 5 percent by the end of 2021 2.

Organizations using Talent Acquisition Suite products are able to engage candidates, empower recruiters, and improve results by increasing the quality of candidates, reducing the number of interviews and time-to-hire, as well as onboarding them faster. By elevating and automating the entire recruitment process, organizations are able to free up valuable recruiter time to focus on high-priority actions to attract and hire top talent.

As part of the transaction, Infinite will work closely with IBM to transition identified employees. After the closing, the company will also assume responsibility for service and support for up to 240 global customers using the purchased products worldwide, as well as all sales and marketing.

“After the acquisition closes, we will immediately focus on rapidly enhancing the platform with new features and capabilities for employee engagement, learning needs analysis, role fitment, agile team formation, competency development, and hiring quality assessments,” said Govil. “In addition to supporting customers through our Talent Management Practice, customers can now tap into Infinite’s global portfolio of IT and platform-led digital services to help with their digital transformation and cloud migration initiatives.”

For more information on Infinite Computer Solutions and its Talent Management Practice, visit https://hcm.infinite.com.

About Infinite Computer Solutions 

Infinite is a global technology solution provider headquartered in Rockville, Md. The company provides business technology solutions and product engineering services for telecom, hi-tech, healthcare, media & entertainment, insurance, banking & financial services, retail, public sector, travel and transport, and government. With the proprietary frameworks, platforms, accelerators, and domain experts, Infinite has been solving challenges for Fortune 1000 companies since 2001. Core service offerings include business transformation, digitalization, cloud services, application development management services, quality engineering and assurance, product/platform engineering, and infrastructure services. For more information, please visit www.infinite.com.

1. https://conference-board.org/data/eti.cfm

2. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/goldman-sachs-forecasts-a-jobs-boom-says-unemployment-rate-could-fall-to4point1percent-by-the-end-of-2021.html

 

Business World

The Royal Commission for AlUla unveils AlUla, Saudi Arabia to the Indian media

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Royal Commission for AlUla

Mumbai, 29th April 2021: The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) officially launched one of the world’s most significant heritage and culture destinations to the Indian media today. The virtual media launch event was addressed by Melanie de Souza, Executive Director, Destination Marketing; Dr Rebecca Foote, Director, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research from RCU and Huzan Fraser Motivala and Beena Menon, India Representatives of RCU.

AlUla, the world’s masterpiece, is a living museum that holds 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history. The vast desert landscape features preserved tombs, sandstone outcrops, historic dwellings and monuments, both natural and human-made. As part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, it has been decreed that the priceless heritage and nature-based experiences of AlUla will be shared with visitors who will now have the opportunity to experience a living museum and a unique journey through time.

Melanie deSouza
Melanie deSouza

Melanie de Souza stated, “AlUla is a destination of global heritage significance that was officially re-opened in October 2020 as a year-round destination. For years, Saudi Arabia has played home to religious tourism, after all this is the birthplace of Islam, but leisure tourism is certainly on the agenda in this country as part of a very ambitious vision 2030. The first tourist visas to the country became available in 2019 and we expect there to be a lot of interest in visiting a hitherto unknown destination post-pandemic.”

RCU has appointed Beautiful Planet Destination Marketing LLP as their India Representative to handle the Marcom and Travel Trade activities in India.

Huzan Fraser Motivala
Huzan Fraser Motivala

Huzan Fraser Motivala said, “We are thrilled to be chosen as the India representative for The Royal Commission for AlUla to market this new and exciting destination. We aim to showcase AlUla, as a destination for Indian travellers seeking unique experiences and AlUla is a natural intersection of human ingenuity and stunning nature as one living environment.”

AlUla’s landscape is as monumental as its history. AlUla is home to a series of fascinating historical and archaeological sites. It is a cradle of human history offering a bounty of ancient and traditional cultural and artistic charms. The first UNESCO World Heritage of Saudi Arabia, Hegra was the centre of the Nabatean kingdom in the region. The awe-inspiring carved tomb facades of the Nabateans can still be seen today in perfectly preserved detail. The history and heritage of AlUla is evidenced by a recent documentary by Discovery Channel, ‘The Architects of Ancient Arabia’ that revealed human civilization’s first building blocks were set in place in AlUla.

‘The Architects of Ancient Arabia’ journeys into Saudi Arabia’s deeper past, following teams of leading international and Saudi archaeologists and a local historian as they reveal new wonders in the previously unexplored land.

Dr Rebecca Foote commented, “We already know things about the major sites like Hegra, but I hope that the team’s work and this documentary begin to fill in gaps in our knowledge in the late pre-historic period, when societies are becoming more complex. Archaeologists are just beginning to reveal the secrets and stories held within the desert of this stunning landscape, there is much more to discover.”

AlUla’s vast open spaces provide the perfect backdrop for safe, fun, exploration with more experiences opening up over the coming months. AlUla’s new zipline experience has caused quite a stir among adventure seeking travellers. One of the longest in the world, visitors will race along to a speed of over 100km/h while enjoying the incredible scenery of the Hijaz Mountain range – this one is not for the faint-hearted. Other adventure experiences include a range of hiking trails, cycling trails, a bike park, and horse treks.

Far away from city lights in the vast open space of AlUla’s remote Gharameel desert lands, a magical evening of stargazing is a must-do experience for nature lovers. Led by a star expert, visitors will learn about the constellations and their relation to the ancient land’s culture and history as they marvel at the brilliance of the dark sky sprinkled with infinite stars.

As a one-of-a-kind destination, AlUla is destined to become an events hub for the region that attracts world-class entertainment and events. AlUla’s rich history has been on full display during the iconic Winter at Tantora, an exhilarating festival which ran over two consecutive years – 2019 and 2020 between December and March. It has been a three-month festival spanning sport, music, food, heritage, and modern art. The highlight of the festival has been the opportunity to experience world-class musical performances (such as Lionel Richie, Enrique Iglesias), art installations, spectacular hiking trails, hot air ballooning and more. Recently, the world’s most beloved tenor, Maestro Andrea Bocelli performed at Hegra. It was the first time Bocelli shared the stage with his daughter Virginia and son Matteo. The concert marked the third successive year that Bocelli has performed in AlUla.

AlUla is easily accessible by flight from Riyadh, Madinah and Jeddah. Recently, AlUla International Airport has been approved to receive international flights. RCU has increased the airport’s annual capacity by 300% from 100,000 to 400,000 passengers per year making it a fifth largest airport in Saudi Arabia.

Business World

ICICI Bank launches ‘Merchant Stack’; India’s most comprehensive digital and contactless banking platform for merchants

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #ICICI Bank, #Mr. Anup Bagchi

Mumbai: ICICI Bank today announced the launch of its ‘Merchant Stack’, a set of the country’s most comprehensive digital banking services specially curated for retail merchants. The array of banking as well as value-added services enables merchants — grocers, super markets, large retail store chains, online businesses and large e-commerce firms— to meet their banking requirements seamlessly so that they can continue to serve their customers in the challenging times during the pandemic. This initiative is in-line with the Bank’s principle of ‘Business with Care’. Retail merchants can avail of these contactless services, without visiting the Bank’s branches, at a time when people are advised to stay home and maintain social distancing. They can avail of these facilities instantly, on InstaBIZ, the Bank’s mobile banking application for businesses.

‘Merchant Stack’ provides a bouquet of banking solutions and value-added services in ‘one single place’ for the retailer eco-system. The main pillars of the stack are 1) a new account named, ‘Super Merchant Current Account’; 2) two instant credit facilities called ‘Merchant Overdraft’ and ‘Express Credit ; both are’ based on POS transactions, and first in the industry 3) ‘Digital Store Management’ facility to help merchants take their business online; 4) exclusive loyalty rewards programme, an industry first feature; 5) value added services like alliances with major e-commerce and digital marketing platforms for expansion of online presence.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Anup Bagchi, ICICI Bank said, “We always believe that the self-employed and the MSME segment forms the backbone of the Indian economy. A large part of this segment consists of retail merchants. There are over 2 crore merchants in the country with approximately USD 780 billion in value of transactions in 2020. They are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Through these trying times of the pandemic, it is our endeavour to enable the merchants with a digital banking platform that will help them to continue to serve their customers. We have thus launched the ‘Merchant Stack’, which most importantly offers a range of ‘contactless’ banking services, providing safety to the merchants and their customers alike. This new offering is part of our guiding principle of ‘Business with Care’. It is also a continuation of ‘ICICI Stack’ which we launched a year ago to offer retail customers all digital banking services from one platform.

We believe that the ‘Merchant Stack’ offers the most holistic array of banking and value-added banking services for the retail merchant ecosystem. Our research shows that this segment requires digital and instant account opening, multiple digital collection options in one place and quick working capital availability, among others. Armed with these insights, we have created a full stack that brings in a host of digital services specially curated for merchants. Further, all of the solutions are available on our mobile application, InstaBiz. We have also leveraged advanced analytics to use various parameters of POS transactions to offer instant overdraft and settlement of the swipes. We believe that this ‘all-in-one’ and comprehensive ‘Merchant Stack’ will provide easy digital banking to retailers, free up their bandwidth from paper-intensive procedures and thus boost their business growth by improving overall productivity and efficiency.”

The main pillars of the ‘Merchant Stack’ are given below:

  • Super Merchant Current Account: It is a zero-balance account linked to usage of the Bank’s POS (Point-of-Sale) facilities. The merchants can continue to get the advantage of the zero balance account for a lifetime, till they use these facilities. Any merchant, even if not a customer of ICICI Bank, can digitally open the account. The Super Merchant Current Account is available in two variants —Super Advantage and Super Advantage Plus — to suit the requirements of merchants as per the size of operations. Additionally, the current account offers retailers the convenience of transacting with their customers using multiple digital modes of payment including cards, UPI and payment gateway. Similarly, merchants also get various options for making digital payments for their businesses. They also get the benefit of instant reconciliation by using the Bank’s ‘Connected Banking’ platform, that integrates banking and their accounting system, saving them both time and effort.
  • Instant Credit Facilities: The ‘Merchant Stack’ offers two instant credit facilities, based on POS transactions — both being industry first initiatives. The first one, called ‘Merchant Overdraft’ empowers pre-qualified merchants with a linked ICICI Bank POS machine to get upto Rs 25 lakh digitally, instantaneously and in a completely online and paperless manner. The facility leverages advanced data analytics at the Bank to form a new scorecard with various parameters to assess the credit eligibility of merchants using their POS transactions. The new credit assessment method of the Bank is a marked improvement over the traditional industry practice of using only bank statements, financial statements and income returns to offer working capital facilities. Once the overdraft limit is set up, merchants can start using the funds instantly to meet their working capital requirements. This offers significance convenience to borrowers as they no longer need to wait for few working days to avail an OD facility.

Further, the Bank provides instant settlement of POS transactions with ‘Express Credit’. It offers enhanced convenience as merchants can instantly access the funds, in contrast to the industry practice of waiting for a few working days to get credit for sales on POS machines. To bring forth this facility, the Bank has undertaken two-fold initiative: One, it has leveraged technology to decongest the settlement process with network partner for movement of funds. Two, it has used advanced analytics to create an API, receive real-time information on transactions, check the profile of customer and credit the account—all within few minutes. The money is transferred immediately to the merchant’s linked ICICI Bank current account, 24×7, on all days including weekends and bank holidays.

Both the facilities aim to offer timely credit to merchants, including those who are new-to-credit.

  • Digital Store Management: For merchants wanting to expand their business in the online world, the ‘Digital Store Management’ platform is available. It offers a one-stop-solution, which enables merchants to transform their ‘physical store’ into a ‘digital store’ within half-an-hour. It also helps them to manage invoicing, inventory and collections.
  • Loyalty Programme: The ‘Mechant Stack’ offers a loyalty rewards programme for merchants, another industry first feature. With this, merchants using the Bank’s Eazypay facility to accept instant cashless payments from customers through POS/QR solution, get points for transactions which can be redeemed for shopping, vouchers, vacations among others.

The value-added services offered in the ‘Merchant Stack’ are:

  • Access to the new ‘One View’ ‘Merchant’ version on ‘InstaBIZ’ app: This comprehensive mobile app enables businesses to complete almost all their banking transactions digitally, without visiting a branch of the Bank. The ‘Merchant View’ offers all the features of the ‘Merchant Stack’ in addition to the other industry first features namely instant payment of GST, easy bulk collection and payments of funds through multiple modes, automatic bank reconciliation and inward/outward remittances among others. It also enables merchants to grow their customer base by creating marketing campaigns for customers of ICICI Bank.
  • Alliances services with major platforms: The Bank has tied up with a wide-range of companies, who are experts in concierge services like staffing and security, and online skilling courses for computers, new languages and accounting. Merchants can get services of these companies at a discount to streamline or expand their business. Further, the merchants can take the services of major e-commerce and digital marketing platforms for advertising and acquiring customers online.
  • State-of-the-art internet banking platforms: Availability of Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) platform and Trade Online, a specialised digital platform for export-import transactions.

Any merchant can enjoy the benefits of the ‘Merchant Stack’ by simply downloading the InstaBIZ app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Merchants, who are not the customers of the Bank, can also avail the benefits of the stack by instantly opening a zero balance current account using the InstaBIZ app in a digital manner. ‘InstaBIZ’ can also be accessed on the Bank’s Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) platform.

Business World

Bharti Backed Oneweb Secures $550 Million In New Funding: Eutelsat To Take Significant Equity Stake In The Company

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #OneWeb

Hyderabad– 29 April 2021: OneWeb, the global communications network powered from space, announces today that it has secured $550 million in funding from Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL), bringing OneWeb’s total funding to $1.9 billion in fresh equity. This investment from one of the world’s most experienced and largest global operators is a vote of confidence in OneWeb and underscores the arrival of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites into mainstream long-term growth planning for major operators.

Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, will receive a c.24% equity stake in OneWeb and similar governance rights to the U.K. Government and Bharti Global, making it a significant equity partner and joining leading investors including the U.K. Government, Bharti Global and SoftBank. The investment is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.

OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity and its partnership with Eutelsat, a global geostationary satellite operator, will enhance both companies’ commercial potential, leveraging Eutelsat’s established commercial reach to governments and enterprise customers in addition to its strong institutional relationships, recognised technical expertise and global fleet. OneWeb’s ability to address multiple applications requiring low latency and ubiquity will also allow both companies to explore GEO/LEO configurations for future service integrations and packages.

After OneWeb completes the full deployment of the constellation, the company anticipates annual revenues of approximately $1 billion in year three or soon thereafter, thanks to its partnership driven, wholesale business plan.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises said: “We are delighted to welcome Eutelsat into the OneWeb family.

“As an open multi-national business, we are committed to serving the global needs of governments, businesses and communities across the world. Together we are stronger, benefitting from the entrepreneurial energy of Bharti, the extensive global outreach of the UK Government and the expertise in the satellite industry at Eutelsat. OneWeb, with its innovative and disruptive approach, is poised to take a leading position in LEO broadband connectivity.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Today’s investment is another giant leap forward for OneWeb in realising their ambition to provide global broadband connectivity around the globe.

“Eutelsat brings over forty years of experience in the global satellite industry and this exciting new partnership puts OneWeb on a strong commercial footing, and the UK at the forefront of the latest developments in low Earth orbit technology.

“This comes alongside yesterday’s exciting news that a further 36 satellites were launched into space and demonstrates the momentum behind OneWeb and the promising efforts to provide connectivity to some of the world’s most remote places.”

Neil Masterson, Chief Executive Officer of OneWeb, said: “We are delighted with the investment from Eutelsat, which validates our strategy, technology and commercial approach. We now have 80% of the necessary financing for the Gen 1 fleet, of which nearly 30% is already in space. Eutelsat’s global distribution network advances the market entry opportunities for OneWeb and we look forward to working together to capitalise on the growth opportunity and accelerate the pace of execution.”

Commenting on the agreement, Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are excited to become a shareholder and partner in OneWeb in the run up to its commercial launch later in the year and to participate in the substantial opportunity represented by the LEO segment within our industry. We are confident in OneWeb’s right-to-win thanks to its earliness to market, priority spectrum rights and evolving, scalable technology. With over 40 years’ expertise in the global satellite industry, we look forward to working alongside the UK Government, Bharti and the other shareholders to open new opportunities and market access to ensure OneWeb maximises its potential.”

OneWeb’s mission is to deliver broadband connectivity worldwide to its customers, to bridge the global digital divide by offering data connectivity, facilitating linkage to the Internet of Things (IoT) future and a pathway to 5G. OneWeb’s LEO satellite system includes a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals for different customer markets capable of delivering affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications services.

Yesterday, OneWeb successfully launched another 36 satellites into its constellation bringing the system to 182 satellites. The company has only two more launches left in its ‘Five to 50’ programme that will cement the company’s ability to start connectivity services to the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Artic Seas and Canada, with global service available next year.

Business World

Wireline broadband with the speed you need for an uninterrupted T20 viewing experience in India!

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #broadband plans, #Excitel.

Millions of Indians are watching this year’s T20 cricket frenzy from the comfort of their homes exclusively, away from stadiums, restaurants, bars, and friends’ homes. The opening game peaked at about 6.7 million viewers online. These fans were hooked on their favorite sport on their phones, laptops, or bigger screens through the wonderful world of the internet.

Broadband technologies coupled with an explosion of OTT content providers now make sure T20 Cricket is available anytime and everywhere. Excitel’s 100mbps data plan makes this possible for viewers every day to enjoy an uninterrupted viewing experience through its unlimited plans.

The data plans offered by Excitel start from 100 Mbps and go up to 300mbps,  which are all free from data caps. These high-speed plans without a data cap enable viewers an uninterrupted and lag-free viewing experience during the entire 45-day cricketing festival. Such plans are a cherry on the cake for all cricket lovers- watch all games without worrying about data limits or slow connections.

The data plans from Excitel are the most value-for-money offerings in the market today, starting from as low as INR 399 for 100mbps, INR 449 for 200mbps, and INR 499 for 300 Mbps.

In addition to the broadband plans, Excitel offers some of the other benefits to stream OTT platforms including Zee5, Voot, Shemaroo and Eros, etc. at an affordable price. Excitel along with its ultra-affordable data packs which are available in more than  28 Indian cities. Excitel also maintains the same speed throughout the month with seamless downloads and uploads, no data limit, and with no hassle-free installation.

Business World

Indian Overseas Bank Launches Retail Loans On Digital Platform

Apr 29, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Indian Overseas Bank

Chennai, April 29, 2021: Indian Overseas Bank has announced the launch of Retail Loans (home loan, personal loan & clean loan) on digital platform.

The launch was presided by Mr. Partha Pratim Sengupta, Managing Director&CEO, Indian Overseas Bank in the presence of Executive Directors Mr. A. K. Srivastava and Mrs. Srimathy S.

The loans are now available through various channels, i.e. the bank website (www.iob.in), Internet Banking and the Mobile Banking App. IOB customers may apply for these loans through the bank website, mobile banking and internet banking, while non-customers may apply only through thebank website.

Applicants may apply for Housing Loans and Home Loans under the PMAY schemes (subsidy linked home loans). They will also have the option to switch over their home loans from other Banks to IOB. Applicants may also apply for Two &Four Wheeler Loans and Personal Loans in easy steps. Personal Loan to HNIs are also being offered at a discounted interest rate.

On submission of the application after accepting the terms & conditions of the loan, an In-principle sanction letter having a reference number will be generated and will be intimated to applicant through SMS/e-mail.Applicants may then visit IOB’s nearestbranch to avail the loan with the required documents and the in-principle sanction letter. The branch will disburse the loan after verifying the details entered by the borrower, due diligence, appraisal of the loan and execution of documents.

The Digital Loan Initiative is a step towards providing enhanced banking experience to the customers.