Archive: August 4, 2022

UQIDAR celebrates a major milestone in the universities’ ground-breaking research partnership

India, August 2022: UQIDAR (The University of Queensland & IIT-Delhi Academy of Research), the joint Academy of Research celebrates the milestone of enrolling its 100th student in the academy in July 2022. The joint initiative is paving the way for students and academics to partner on projects addressing some of the most pressing issues affecting India and Australia.

Commenting on achieving the milestone, Mr. Peter N Varghese AO, Chancellor, The University of Queensland said, “Global partnerships are a key element in UQ’s strategy. Our partnership with IITD reflects a shared vision, one that is committed to excellence and growth. To see students join us in this belief, and to transform into truly game-changing graduates, gives us immense pleasure. It is a privilege to be back in India to celebrate this achievement and the partnership more broadly.”
UQIDAR was founded in 2018 and is IITD’s first international joint Ph.D. program, enabling students to gain global qualifications from both institutions. With access to world-class facilities, resources, and dual supervision by UQ and IIT Delhi academics, students benefit from global expertise and access to diverse employment opportunities with international sponsors. The event happens to be a part of the Australian delegation’s visit to India.

The delegation met the new Director of IIT-Delhi, Professor Rangan Banerjee, to consolidate engagement activities and to discuss the potential expansion of the existing partnership between both universities.

Talking about both institution’s plans to expand this partnership further, Professor Deborah Terry AO, Vice-Chancellor and President of UQ, said “We are currently in discussion on how we can expand our partnership into other teaching and research fields, in areas of mutual interest to both Australia and India. I am a strong believer in collaboration, and at UQ, we are very aware of the importance of working with industry, governments, and other education and research institutions to achieve mutual goals.”

Meetings between UQ and IITD this week have been helpful for the senior leaders from both institutions to discuss the future direction of the UQ-IITD partnership towards a sustainable model and potential expansion.

Adding to Mr. Peter’s statement, Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT-Delhi said, “We are excited about our partnership with the University of Queensland. The joint Ph.D. Programme enables an excellent learning experience that exploits the synergy and complementarity in faculty expertise and research facilities. We believe the UQIDAR will enhance our internationalization and help in solving research problems in India and Australia.” 

Over the past few years, students from across the globe have considered Queensland as their preferred destination for better scope in terms of academics, profession as well as standard of living. Being well connected with the rest of the world, Queensland is a perfect place for global collaborations and partnerships across various sectors. Today Queensland is steering economic growth through expanded partnerships between research organizations, government, and educational institutions locally and internationally to enhance the state’s competitive strengths and create knowledge-based jobs for the future.

These partnerships are well supported by Study Queensland – the specialist international education and training (IET) unit of Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ), the Government organization dedicated to promoting Queensland as a premier study destination and a preferred partner for education, training research, and innovation.

Study Queensland offers initiatives like Student Employability initiatives, which happens to be one of the largest talent programmes in Australia. Its core focus is to develop students’ employability skills and to connect them with alumni and employers.

Bolstering the potential for growth and collaboration of the Queensland and Indian Universities, Mr. Abhinav Bhatia, Senior Commissioner for Trade, Investment & Education – South Asia at Trade & Investment Queensland (Government), said, “When two world-class institutions join forces, remarkable things happen. That is what I witnessed today. The cutting-edge research and strong application to industry and social sectors speak volumes about the kind of work carried out by students at the University of Queensland and IIT-Delhi. We at TIQ (Queensland Govt, Australia) are supportive and extremely proud of this partnership. We are working with both institutions to explore how we can integrate these projects into corporate and government initiatives. This partnership is testament to the University of Queensland’s strategic vision to build strong research links with India and to nurture student mobility between the two regions.”

The delegation from the leading Australian institution The University of Queensland (UQ) has arrived in India for five days and is led by Chancellor Peter N Varghese AO and President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AO. The delegation will be visiting and meeting various educational institutions, Government bodies, and industry partners during their visit.

TEC India expands with 4 new centres across 3 cities in North and South India

Bangalore, August 2022: The Executive Centre (TEC), Asia’s largest premium flexible workspace provider, has announced the opening of four new locations in India, with a total investment of more than INR 50 crores. While the two new centres in Bengaluru, located in UB City and Safina Towers will be operational this quarter, the centre in DLF Downtown Gurugram and Olympia Tech Park in Chennai will be operational in the last quarter of 2022. All the four centres are located across central business districts and cater to thriving niche markets in the metro cities. The expansion will cumulatively provide 1,200 workstations increasing the total workstation count in India to over 10,000.

With organisations looking to optimise their capex across and mitigate risks, flexible workspaces have gained a lot of traction as it helps organisations to provide hybrid working models for their evolving workforce in a post pandemic environment. Additionally, the IT/ITeS sector has been hiring aggressively and recent data from Cushman & Wakefield has stated that leasing of office space in eight cities in India is expected to increase by 14 percent this year. TEC is strategically placed to cater to the demand of rising adoption of flexible workplaces with the 4 new centres in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurugram adding close to 1 lakh square feet of grade A office space to the company’s existing portfolio, bringing the total space in India to more than a million square feet.

Commenting on this strategic announcement, Ms. Nidhi Marwah, Group Managing Director South Asia and GCC, The Executive Centre commented “As we enter a new era where hybrid work model become priority for organisations, we believe in offering an exemplary experience to our members by curating value-driven customised spaces. This helps our members to reflect their company’s identity and culture for their employees. India has always been a priority region for us and our investments over the past years marks a testament to this commitment. In addition to the four new centres, we aim to cater to the accelerating demand with additional centres in 2022, supporting the expansion of our existing members, welcoming new members, and enhancing our presence in the country.”

Designed as per global standards and specifications, the centres will host a wide variety of facilities to boost productivity and promote work-life balance including private gym and state-of-the-art fitness centre, wellness rooms, mother’s care rooms, business lounge and baristas, café area etc. The Executive Centre offers an array of flexible workspace solutions including private office space, bespoke enterprise solutions, coworking, virtual office, meeting rooms and much more.

95% of businesses fail because of mismanagement of finances: Dr. Anil Lamba, Financial Literacy Activist, Author

Hyderabad, August 2022… FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO) on Wednesday evening organised two sessions at Hotel Park at Somajiguda on Financial Literacy for women entrepreneurs as part of their national initiative.

A session on “Romancing The Balance Sheet” was held by Dr. Anil Lamba, Director-Lamcon, International Corporate Trainer and Financial Literacy Activist

Dr Lamba, the bestselling author of ‘Romancing the Balance Sheet,’ ‘Flirting with Stocks,’ ‘Eye on the Bottom Line,’ and ‘Financial Affairs of the Common Man created awareness among his participants on how to read balance sheets.

There is no such thing as a non-Finance person, he told his audience. It’s a misconception that Finance Management happens in the Finance Department. It is happening right through the organization. There is a direct relationship between every action you take and the bottom line of your organization, Dr Lamba said

He spoke about the rules of Good Financial Management which will keep us secure. According to some surveys, 95% of American Companies failed due to financial mismanagement. Nine out of ten companies shut their business was shut due to financial mismanagement he said. The real financial people call themselves non-financial. And this flawed perception is responsible for almost 95% of businesses failing worldwide.

He gave two golden rules to follow for sure shit success. The first golden rule is to invest in assets which must generate a return which is at least equal to the cost of capital. The second rule is that assets must bring a cash flow before the liabilities demand an outflow.

The second session was “Let’s Talk Money” by Ms. Monika Halan, a Celebrated Author and Adjunct Professor, at the National Institute of Securities Market (NISM). When women can drive a car, run a company, fly an aircraft, and join a battlefield why can’t they manage their finances? Why do they give control of their finances to their spouses, she asked. Men are happy to take financial control of the monies being earned by us. Common ladies take control of the monies you earn she said.

Speaking further she said whoever controls Money wields power. Why not women take control? It is not rocket science.

Women have reached space, but still, money decisions are handed over to the money she said

She explained the money map or Dhan Chakra. Turn your savings into investments through debt, equity, and real estate she said.

Ms Halan gave money habits to fitness which include

01. Get a cash flow system in Place

02. Build an emergency fund

03. Fix your spend, save and borrow ratios

04. Build Sensible insurance

05. Give your money equity exposure

06. Eat a balanced Financial meal

On building an emergency fund she said a maximum of two years of monthly spending or a minimum of 6months of monthly spending must be your emergency fund she said. Invest in bank deposits, government securities, liquid mutual funds and short-term debt mutual funds. The spend, save and borrow should be in the ratios of 50: 20:30.

Life insurance is only required for those who gave dependents. Never go for bundle insurance and investment. It is just a trap she said.

Ms. Shubhraa Maheshwari, Chairperson—FLO Hyderabad while welcoming the gathering said Money management is an essential skill for not just women, but all of us. It is important to invest time in learning this skill so that you live a financially abundant life. This year my endeavour through our programs for our members as well as women from all strata of society is to create a positive relationship with Finance so that women can view money for what it is – a tool that helps you acquire things you need or want. There are many emotions and conditions tied to being Financially Literate. It can elevate your status, offer security, boost your self-confidence, and the list goes on. Mindset plays an important part in your financial management and planning skills. When you have a growth mindset, you can move from the current condition of your finances and grow your wealth.

Hero Motocorp Introduces Innovative Two-Wheeler Exchange Ecosystem

Bengaluru, August 2022: Further strengthening its digital journey towards enhanced customer experiences, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has introduced the company’s two-wheeler resale platform “Wheels of Trust” in a phygital avatar.

By offering an integrated omni-channel (digital and on-ground) exchange ecosystem, the company aims to strengthen its one-stop solution to exchange existing two-wheelers of any brand by providing the best resale value.

Offering the new-age experience, prospective customers can avail Wheels of Trust DIY (do-it-yourself) valuation from the comfort of their smartphones, which promises to deliver swift and transparent indicative resale value. The experts present at 900+ trusted channel partners will then facilitate the customers with professional certification, spot-bidding for best market offers, quick deal and hassle-free exchange for their existing two-wheelers.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Growth Officer, Hero MotoCorp said, “‘Wheels of Trust’, the two-wheeler resale platform from Hero MotoCorp has served more than 5 Lac+ happy customers with complete trust, transparency and peace of mind. Now in the phygital avatar, customers can discover the best resale value of any two-wheeler from the comfort and convenience of their homes. The pre-owned segment is evolving each day, and we are happy to provide an ecosystem that enables owners of old two-wheelers to have a hassle free upgrade.” 

‘Wheels of Trust’ offers a strong value proposition for customers looking for personal mobility solutions. Scan the QR Code to experience an end-to-end technological solution for best resale value of any two-wheeler instantly.

IAN invests INR 3 crore in Seed round of Hospitality Startup Brevistay

New Delhi, Aug 2022: Brevistay, a pay-for-hour room booking startup has raised INR 3 crore from Indian Angel Network in its seed round. The round is led by IAN Lead Investors Uday Chatterjee, Hari Balasubramanian, and Sri Prakash.

The announcement comes as the startup commemorates its sixth anniversary on August 3rd, 2022. Co-founded by Prateek Singh, Shubham Agarwal, Nikhil Kumar Pathak, Aditya Naithani and Avnish Kumar, Brevistay allows customers to book hotels in slots of three, six, and 12 hours with the flexibility to pick their own check-in time. Its platform also allows hotels to manage inventory with the flexibility of their rooms in real-time — users can book a room at 1 AM as the hotels registered on the platform can be booked 24X7.

Founded in 2016, Brevistay aims to solve customers’ most common problem of overpaying for short stays at hotels. The check-in issue at odd times also gets resolved as the hotels registered on the platform can be booked for three hours and paid accordingly, making Brevistay an answer to a cost-effective way of adding comfort. The services offered are free of biases as everyone can book a room, including millennials, business travellers, unmarried couples, etc.

Prateek Singh, Co-founder & CEO, Brevistay, said, “We are changing the ‘unit’ of hotel bookings. It’s not all about room night; you also have hotel hours. We are breaking the pre-existing and centuries-old pattern of the noon check-in and 11 am check-out system and creating a new way of conducting the business. With this investment, we are looking at expanding so we can take this concept to larger audiences across more cities.”

Speaking on the investment Sri Prakash, lead investor from IAN said “We are backing a good team of founders who have built a business which has tremendous potential in India. We are expecting the company to become a category leader in hourly booking for hotel rooms and similar facilities. Our investor network in IAN will also help the company in all possible ways for helping them realise their full potential.”

Brevistay has been a bootstrapped company for six years without significant funding. The recently infused investment will enable the company to develop more creative ways to create a convenient and beneficial ecosystem for customers and the hotels.

The expansion of Brevistay took a toll when the pandemic struck the world. However, the company bounced back strongly with a 1.5X growth in the nine months after the first lockdown and recorded a 250% spike in the numbers in the next nine months after the second wave of COVID-19. Brevistay is commemorating its successful journey on August 3rd 2022, the day of its sixth anniversary.

UniFarm to organise second chapter of Global Web3 Talk Series in Pune

New Delhi , August  2022: After a successful first global web3 talk series in Delhi/NCR, UniFarm will hold the second chapter of the talk series in Pune, one of the biggest crypto hot spots in India. The talk series is aimed at enlightening the investor community in Pune to leverage the full potential of web3 in making income passively. The crypto market is a complex world and UniFarm talk series are scheduled across India and South East Asia to bust the myths around crypto and empower the investors with the correct tools to create long-term wealth.

The first talk series in Delhi/NCR was a huge success as it saw 350+ registrations with more than 120 investors actively participating in 7 channels of generating passive income. The Pune talk series event will be held on August 6 at 91springboard Yerwada, Pune 5:30 pm onwards. The Pune talk series event will be attended by reputed venture capitalists, marketing gurus, crypto enthusiasts, and investors among many others. The event flow is attached with this release as an annexure.

The meetup’s goal is to enable participants to explore the crypto universe, demystify myths associated with it and make people aware of how to earn passive income by investing their crypto assets using various popular ways like Staking, LP staking, Lending, Learning to Earn, Walk and Earn, Yield Nodes, Merge Mining, Airdrops, etc. This event will also serve as an amazing opportunity for crypto enthusiasts and investors who are passionate about the cryptocurrency sector to interact and network with each other while attending the event’s knowledge session.

The global web3 talk series is a part of UniFarm’s global outreach program to generate worldwide awareness around generating passive income from staking and other avenues of crypto investing. The crypto market is undergoing a correction phase and investors need strategic guidance to keep their crypto portfolio in shape, UniFarm aims to empower the investors with the skills to harness the true potential of crypto assets.

Gulf Oil Q1 Revenue registers a growth of 69 % YoY & Q1 EBITDA grows 102 % YoY.

Mumbai, August 2022: Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited, a Hinduja Group Company, has today reported its Unaudited financial results (Standalone) for the Quarter ended June 30, 2022. Key highlights are as under

* Not Annualised

The company achieved record revenue for the quarter touching Rs. 706 crores at 69.26% growth YoY. All segments of business witnessed good growth led by the B2C segment covering bazaar market and OEM Franchise workshops, with demand conditions improving in most categories on the back of improved business environment, industrial and infra customer/OEM off takes and the impact of market reach & distribution initiatives.

While there has been continuous pressure on input costs due to upward crude movement, additive price hikes, sharp INR depreciation and in general inflationary trend across all cost items, the Company has taken suitable pricing actions to minimize the impact and helped with the better product and segment mix, delivered improved YoY margins.

The company continues to invest in building its brand and driving CVPs (consumer value propositions) for its sub-brands in each segment. Multiple campaigns were aired this quarter featuring MS Dhoni as well as CSK players on Digital medium, showcasing the Personal Mobility products portfolio promoting these sub-brands and their CVPs. All these campaigns received very encouraging response with high engagement levels in the form of view-throughs, likes, shares as well as comments. Gulf Pride, our flagship 2W Engine Oil brand, was promoted as ‘Engine ka Booster’ for its CVP of ‘Instant pick-up’. Communication was aired even on Commercial Vehicle oil (CVO) brands – Gulf Duramax and Gulf Superfleet Turbo+ engine oil. These too featured MS Dhoni and were shot and promoted in regional languages. Gulf Superfleet Turbo+’s CVP of Superior Protection was very simply communicated as it being a Truck ‘Engine ka Vaccine’, making it memorable for the trucker TG in the context of last 2 years.

During the quarter, the company conducted hundreds of Tractor oil change camps across the country’s rural belts and received very encouraging response. This is one of the reasons that rural business and the Tractor engine oil portfolio has started picking up after a relatively leaner period in last FY due to various macro-factors.

Mechanics are an essential part of the purchase-decision making process when it comes to Automotive engine oils and the company introduced a slew of activities and incentives for them this quarter to keep them engaged and to encourage them to promote the usage of Gulf products. At a deeper engagement level, our property of ‘Mechanic Idol’ reached its culmination. Over a period of few months, online as well as on-ground auditions/trials were conducted wherein Mechanics were shortlisted basis their expertise in the field and a grand event with finalists was held in Mumbai recently. The brand received a lot of love from the mechanic community for engaging with them through such a unique property and appreciating their efforts and skills.

Some other key highlights during Q1 –

The Company has seen good traction in sales of AdBlue in recent months and is a front runner in supplying AdBlue across the entire country through its extensive distribution network and tie-ups with more than 10 OEMs. As one of the pioneers in manufacturing and marketing AdBlue, a highly environment friendly product which reduces emittance levels of hazardous NOx from vehicles into atmosphere while running some BS IV and most of BS VI diesel vehicles including CVs, cars, etc. The company is focused on marketing high-quality AdBlue and ensuring effective distribution spread. The size of the market is seeing significant growth as number of BS VI diesel vehicles parc increases every day and usage of AdBlue will increase multi-fold. The supply model being put in place is well poised to take good market share in this segment.

· The Company has collaborated with Shibaura Machine for supply of Lubricants for their Factory fill requirement, which is one of the largest Injection molding machine manufacturers of India.

· The company participated in Plastasia & IPLAS exhibitions which are the biggest events for Plastic Injection Segment in India.

· At the News Television (NT) Summit & Awards held in New Delhi in June 2022, Company’s Media partner for the event, TV9 Bharatvarsh won the award for Best Social Contribution by a News Network for partnering with the company on Gulf Superfleet Surakshabandhan. This was Gulf Oil India’s trucker outreach program through its brand property and CSR initiative in vaccinating 10,555 truckers in August 2021.

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Ravi Chawla, Managing Director & CEO, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd., said, “I am quite satisfied with the resilient growth-oriented performance by the Company in Q1 given the inflationary pressures for all cost line items. FY23 has started by us delivering the highest ever quarterly volumes for our Core Lubricants which augurs quite well for us to once again aim for industry leading growth rates and gaining further market share as we progress ahead during the year. Certain product categories like Diesel Engine Oil, Passenger Car Oil, AdBlue, etc. have done particularly well during the quarter. As the markets are fully open and operating near normal, post 2 years of Pandemic, our theme is to ‘Re-establish Connect & Re-energize Growth’ by bringing back the personal touch at all levels and connect with all our stakeholders coupled with the rolling out of extensive outreach programs to gain distribution and this quarter has already showed encouraging results on that front. We will continue to focus on our margin management strategy based on the movements in key input costs. 

The Company is objectively evaluating the evolving EV space & consulting experts in India & Globally and look for synergistic areas where Gulf can create differentiation in the EV ecosystem on the strengths of its brand, distribution reach and OEM relationships, he further added.”