Archive: September 19, 2022

India’s fireworks capital Sivakasi stares at dark Diwali , all eyes are on the Supreme Court and manufacturers of the fireworks industry are waiting for its final decision that will determine the fate of the industry

19^th Sept 2022:

The apex court had banned the use of barium in 2018 in making firecrackers and it was reconfirmed in 2021, putting the fireworks industry in Sivakasi the firecrackers’ hub of the country, and around three lakh workers directly employed in around 1,000 organized units there, in a tight spot.  Production of fireworks in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district, is yet to pick up even as there is just a month to go for the festival of lights Diwali

Firecracker manufacturers in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu are worried a lot that the prevailing Supreme Court ban on barium in the fireworks industry could take away the glitter out of the business in the upcoming Diwali season. The apex court had banned the use of barium in 2018 in making firecrackers and it was reconfirmed in 2021, putting the fireworks industry in Sivakasi the firecrackers’ hub of the country— and around three lakh workers directly employed in around 1,000 organized units there, in a tight spot. After the SC had reconfirmed the ban in 2021, many of the stakeholders have impleaded in the case seeking lifting of the ban.

A Murali, Vice President,  Sivakasi Fireworks Manufacturers Association said “The ban of barium is baseless imposed without any scientific study being conducted on the possible hazardous impact with regards to the pollution. Murali said there are three lakh people employed in the Sivakasi belt alone, with another four lakh indirectly who are supplying raw materials like chemicals and printed boards, among others. “ We are being targeted because of the hue and cry of the environmentalists in the name of pollution, although other sectors as well are using barium in various production operations. I should say that we are the weaker opponent and are being made scapegoats,” he said.

According to him, barium is one of the main oxidizers for most fireworks, and with the ban, they are unable to make a lot of products. “ After the ban, my factories are running at 50% capacity and reduced production by 50% to 60% which obviously impacted the business. For instance, I have a group of companies which employs 450 to 500 workers and after the ban, I could employ 200 people only,” he said.

S Ravi,  Friends of Fireworks said “ Diwali is just a month away, but manufacturers from Sivakasi are tense as sales haven’t picked up yet.  The city of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, which accounts for 90 percent of Indian firecracker manufacturing, stares at a dark Diwali this year as production has been reduced to just over 40 percent due to court restrictions. The firecracker industry is home to 1,070 registered firecracker units and provides jobs to around 8 lakh people.

Diwali is just a month away, but manufacturers from Sivakasi are tense as sales haven’t picked up yet. “The ban on the sale of firecrackers for Diwali imposed over the past three years due to COVID-19 and environmental concerns in several states have already brought down the industry. The Supreme Court ban on barium in the fireworks industry took away the glitter from the business. The industry was estimated with a business volume of Rs 6000 crore even a few years ago. It has been drastically reduced to Rs 3500 crore due to the ban. He predicted that there will be a shortage of firecrackers this year due to the impact of low production.

S Srinivasan, Chief Technical Advisor, Sivakasi Fireworks Manufacturers Association said “ The price of crackers has gone up by up to 40 percent this year due to higher prices of raw materials than usual. By this time of the year, the dispatches should be going on in full swing, but that is not the case now. Now, all eyes are on the Supreme Court and manufacturers of the fireworks industry are waiting for its final decision that will determine the fate of the industry”.

Sivakasi Sparklers Manufacturers Association, Vijaykant Said that fireworks emission standards are to be fixed by involving the manufacturers, and the ban on the use of barium has to be lifted. “The manufacture of joint crackers is already allowed as per explosives rules, 2008 in such a way that the noise of individual crackers is not above the noise pollution norm. This condition has to be restored. As for Delhi or any other place where the ambient air quality index is above 200, the current two-hour stipulation for bursting crackers itself will help achieve the 30% reduction in emissions from fireworks. For the rest of the country, the two-hour restriction has to be relaxed,” he said.

With the ban, many organized players believe that manufacturing has turned into the paradise of bootleggers, workers were found migrating to illegal manufacturers for want of jobs jeopardizing their safety.

Jaipur Rugs Announces ‘Rug Utsav – the-knot-so-ordinary’

India, 19^th September 2022: Jaipur Rugs – India’s largest manufacturer of handmade rugs announces its biggest yet festive bonanza. ‘Rug Utsav– the knot so ordinary’, as it will be called this year, will start from the 17th of September and continue till the 24th of October 2022.

Jaipur Rugs will offer discounts up to 60% on more than 10,000 rugs, 100’s of styles, and 1000’s unique colors with special deals during Navratri and Dussehra. Various rug types like hand-knotted, hand-tufted, handloom, and flatweave dhurries and design enthusiasts can avail of these offers from the Jaipur Rugs website, retail stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Bengaluru, and store-in-stores in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.

In addition to the discounts, Jaipur Rugs offers value-added services like free delivery all across India and up to two years warranty on its products. Jaipur Rugs is also offering a novel stain-resistant coating that keeps rugs protected from liquid spills. The stain-resistant service is an added service for old and new customers, but can be done to rugs from any brand. The brand also offers free virtual consultations by interior designers and rug experts so that customers can make an informed choice when buying rugs and carpets.

With all these added services and amazing deals and discounts, Jaipur Rugs is ensuring that its customers get a flawless shopping experience whether they are shopping online or offline.

Commenting on the year’s Rug Utsav – knot-so-ordinary sale, Mr. Yogesh Chaudhary, director, of Jaipur Rugs, said “This is our endeavor to provide best-in-class collections to our customers from our renowned designers to enhance the spirit of the festive season. Rug Utsav in itself has become synonymous with the festive spirit which people anticipate and look forward to.”

“Every rug made by our weavers is a blessing, crafted inventively for every home. Since the festive season is around the corner, we feel these blessings are the only priceless gifts that we can bring to your doorstep. Every purchase with Jaipur Rugs will be instrumental in bringing joy & happiness not only to our weavers but to their entire family and will be a milestone in helping the entire weaving community of Jaipur Rugs” he further adds

With such hard-to-ignore offers on Jaipur Rugs – only a few clicks away, it’s time to revive your homes with festive energy contained in every rug that’s made with immense love and blessings. Customers will get a chance to try their hands-on making rugs and experience the live rug-making process at all our retail stores in India.

Punjab National Bank bagged TWO Awards under the EASE 4.0 Reforms Index Award for FY 2021-22

New Delhi, 19 September 2022: Punjab National Bank emerged as the first runner-up under two categories at the EASE 4.0 Reforms Index Award for FY 21-22. These prestigious pair of awards were secured under Tech-enabled Banking and Governance & HR at the event organized by the Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) in Mumbai in the presence of Hon’ble Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance Dr.Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad.

On the occasion, the award was received by Shri Atul Kumar Goel, MD, and CEO. The event also had the presence of Shri R. K. Saboo, CGM, SMEAD, Shri Bibhu Prasad Mahapatra, Zonal Manager, Mumbai, and Shri Manish Agrawal, GM, MPD of PNB.

Jio Haptik launches exclusive Whatsapp & Commerce Products to increase brands’ sales records during the festive season

Mumbai, 19 September 2022: As the festive season is just around the corner, Jio Haptik, one of the world’s largest conversational commerce companies, is organizing its exclusive product launch event ‘Hype’. Through this much-awaited event, Jio Haptik will launch new Commerce products/features for the upcoming festive sales season.

WhatsApp has emerged as the ideal medium to support brands to achieve their targets while managing the spike in sales and support requests. This product launch event aligns with the increased importance of proactive customer engagement strategies through WhatsApp. The event will witness top industry leaders discuss various WhatsApp campaign strategies to help brands break sales records, especially during the upcoming Diwali and festive season.

The event will be attended by leading CX and Growth leaders – Satinder Singh, Platforms & Products at JioMobility, ArchitShrivastava, DirectorofProductManagementatJiomart, BruceSchwack, ChiefCommunications Officer at Netmeds, Naveen Abhishek, Head of Customer Service at Pepperfry, SaurabhBhandari, Vice President D2C New Initiatives, boAt, and Arzan Singpurwallia, Partner Lead – WhatsApp for Business.

Sharing his views on the event launch, Aakrit Vaish, CEO and Co-founder of Haptik, said, “Messaging as a medium is now helping brands accomplish sales via direct customer conversations at scale. As the world’s largest WhatsApp chatbot provider, our exclusive products & features will help enterprises proactively sell their products to customers, digitize the end-to-end shopping experience and meet enormous demand during the festive season. Also, our solution shall significantly increase brand discovery through newer channels like Ads, SMS, and Instagram to help brands build a true-Omni channel strategy.”

As part of the launch, the products to be introduced by Jio Haptik will help brands significantly optimize marketing budgets, achieve phenomenal sales, and enhance customer interactions. The product Proactive Messaging will help customer-facing teams initiate new conversations with users via WhatsApp notifications. The second product, CommercePlus,willmakeshoppingthroughconversationseasierthroughProductSearch&ProductFAQsonWhatsApp, Facebook,Instagram.

The Click to Haptik Ads product will enable brands to start direct and personalized conversations with users through ads. The product will eventually increase click-through rates, conversions, and returns on Ads expenditures. Another stellar product is Instagram Commerce. Jio Haptik will enable running Click-to-DM ads,

Respond to story mentions, DMs, and comments with its IVA and guide users throughout their buying journeys. And lastly, through its 40+Integrations, JioHaptik ensures that a brand’s IVA can easily connect and effectively function with its existing CX tools.

Commenting on the occasion, Bruce Schwack, Chief Communications Officer at Netmeds, said,“We have been using Haptik for 2 years now, and from the outset, we have been impressed not only with their technology but also with their sharp focus on how the tech could help us achieve our business objectives. We’ve already experienced the tremendous advantage Haptik gives us in managing and reducing friction on the CS side, and now the new WhatsApp commerce feature promises to help us convert “browsers” into customers. Any tool that helps us retain existing customers AND onboard new ones gets a big “thumbs up” from me. So “don’t put your fork down, the best is yet to come!”

Post the grand event, Jio Haptik would conduct a networking session over dinner and drinks with all the attendees & CXOs. Some confirmed RSVP categories comprise leaders from global brands like Meta, Google, Unilever, Lodha Group, Kotak Mahindra Group, JP Morgan, Cello world, and Tata AIG Group, among hundreds of others.

Regarding the event, Naveen Abhishek, Head of Customer Service at Pepperfry, said, “Hype at Haptik was a great event to connect with industry’s top CX & Growth leaders and like-minded peers to share insights on how brands can use WhatsApp for customer engagement, sales, and support. Especially with the Diwali season, Pepperfry is looking to increase its sales and support operations at scale, and WhatsApp will be one of our core channels to do so”.

Before launching the exclusive products, Jio Haptik collaborated with numerous global brands to offer them complete commerce solutions through its iconic WhatsApp chatbot solution. Recently, the company joined hands with Meta to introduce grocery shopping for Jiomart users on WhatsApp. Other renowned partners of Jio Haptik are Microsoft Azure and IRCTC

National Logistics Policy Inputs_TCI, OnMove by Zast Logisolutions and iThink Logistics

Mr. Vineet Agarwal, MD at Transport Corporation of India

‘‘The much-awaited announcement by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India around National Logistics Policy, will herald a paradigm shift in the logistics sector. Push toward seamless multimodal transportation and modern connectivity will be a game changer as it will shift the transportation stress from just roads to other modes as well. It will help us drive the ESG goals and focus on a better cost structure. The paperless supply chain initiative, strengthened cooperative federalism, ease of Logistics services portal (e-log), and standardization of the warehousing sector will help India become one of the top 25 Logistics performers in the world. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) tenant of the NLP will enhance visibility for customers and enable logistics companies like us to adopt digitization at a much larger scale.

 Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya will act as a human resource for the drivers and other such training programs will be provided to the workforce.

NLP is an encouragement for all the stakeholders in the Supply Chain segment & will be one of the key pillars for India to become a USD 5 trillion economy. It will surely provide the ‘Cheetah Speed’ to the logistics industry and make India a global logistics hub.”

Mr. Pervinder Singh Chawla, Co-Founder at OnMove by Zast Logisolutions

”The much awaited New Logistics Policy is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. It creates a path for Logistics to contribute to the economy and GDP of the country in a positive manner. With a strong focus on creating a single-window e-logistics market, the generation of employment, and skills, and making medium and small enterprises competitive, the Policy will streamline the supply chain process. In India, where road transportation dominates the logistics sector, with a dominant share of 60 percent, the shift towards multimodal infrastructure with a mix of rail, shipping, road, and air transport, will help reduce the congestion on roads along with low crude import bills. The policy addresses the pre-existing concerns in India’s logistics sector from a global perspective. The comprehensive areas mentioned in the Policy, like process re-engineering, paperless supply chain, seamless multimodal transport, and modern connectivity for ease of doing business & reducing logistics costs, will help the country reach its economic goals. The sector-specific Logistics plan and strengthened cooperative federalism will make India a Global Digital Logistics Hub. Gati shakti Vishwa Vidyalaya will act as a Human Resource for drivers and others. New courses and skill development training programs at UG and PG levels will boost the Indian economy by enhancing the employment rate. The NLP also formalizes the logistics sector by introducing a Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP). Ease of Logistics Services Portal (E-Log) will build a Digital Regulatory Interface. The reduction in transaction costs will catalyse the trade while enhancing competitiveness and driving the MSMEs sector through cost-efficient logistics. Overall, the NLP is a holistic approach to help India set a global benchmark and become one of the Top 25 Logistics Performers in the world.”

Ms Zaiba Sarang, Co-founder, iThink Logistics

”NLP aims at reducing the logistics cost from 13% to a single digit. Drones will soon contribute to agricultural logistics from the remotest regions of the Himalayas or remote islands their product will be made accessible to the Metro region of India. ULIP, ELOG, Gati Shakti, and many more initiatives will try to deliver a cheetah speed to the logistics of India. NLP gives the smallest of people in the ecosystem to get access to information that was available to key stakeholders only.85% of owners own less than 10 trucks and their empty trucks can pick up the goods from the best place which will yield them a higher return. NLP also helps the last mile to be more efficient and faster to fill up the gap of transporter where business can benefit in terms of time and cost. Currently, logistics is providing livelihood to more than 22 million people, with one of the initiatives aimed at upskilling and increasing employment opportunities. At the grassroots level, NLP also helps truck drivers to get a peaceful night. Along with the normal people in the ecosystem, it will also help the shramik class to get respect and dignity.”