Archive: November 18, 2022

Find, Message and Buy on WhatsApp

Today we’re sharing an update on what we’re building to help people find, message and buy something from a business on WhatsApp. Our team is in Brazil today where we’re discussing our vision for bringing the entire shopping experience directly to a WhatsApp chat.

Find a Business

People want a convenient way to quickly get assistance from the millions of small businesses and tens of thousands of brands already on WhatsApp. Today we’re launching the ability to find a business right on WhatsApp so people can now browse businesses by category – such as travel or banking – or search by the business name. This will save people from having to find phone numbers off websites or type a number into their contacts.

We’ve built business search in a way that preserves people’s privacy. What you search for is processed in a way that cannot be linked back to your account. To start, we’re bringing the ability to search for a business to Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the UK where people can find companies using our WhatsApp Business Platform. In Brazil, search will help people find small businesses as well.

Message

As more businesses use WhatsApp, our first principle remains keeping people in control of their conversations. Getting this right is important for WhatsApp just as much as for the people and businesses that rely on us. Some of the recent businesses that have joined WhatsApp are helping people open a bank account, purchase their metro ticket and order groceries.

Buy

Ultimately we want people to be able to make a secure payment right from a chat with their credit or debit card. We recently launched this experience in India and we’re excited to now be testing this in Brazil with multiple payment partners. This seamless checkout experience will be a game-changer for people and businesses looking to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to go to a website, open another app or pay in person.

These new experiences are part of making WhatsApp the best way for people to connect with their favorite businesses. We look forward to your feedback.

Chemin Esports enters the 2nd tour of nationwide campus connect program, with Mr. Bhaichung Bhutia as the Chief Guest of Inauguration Ceremony

New Delhi, November 18, 2022: Chemin Esports, one of India’s leading Esports companies, kicks off 2nd tour of the nationwide campus connect program at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology. Mr. Bhaichung Bhutia will be the Chief Guest of the Inauguration Ceremony. Chemin Esports had earlier announced that they would be organizing a nationwide University & College Esports Tour in association with the Federation of Electronic Sports Associations of India (FEAI), the national apex body for Esports in India.

As part of the FEAIs national grassroots program, Chemin Esports started the tournament series planned around prominent Indian colleges and universities to spread awareness about Esports as a career opportunity in India. The first such tour was at the prestigious IIM Indore, where Chemin hosted the FIFA 23 tournament. The second tour is at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, where Chemin will host Valorant, Call of Duty Mobile, 8Ball Pool, and FIFA 23 tournament in the cultural fest Kaalrav 2022, held between 19-21 November 2022.

FEAI has been leading a strong policy intervention, anchored through the policies of the Government of India, towards the formalization of esports and allied industries. With FEAI’s strong emphasis on developing esports across every Indian state through regional chapters, the association with Chemin Esports for the tour will lead to a more robust and faster development of esports in India. With the current gamer outreach of FEAI and active player participation of almost 1 Lakh Esports players, this program will help FEAI and Chemin scout for raw but aspirational Esports talent who can be nurtured into top Esports Athletes. All participating players will be registered as officially recognised esports players with the FEAI.

Commenting on the tour, Ishan Verma, Director of Chemin Esports said, “We are glad to kick off the 2nd tour of the nationwide campus connect program. As I stated earlier, it is one of its kind Esports program to be organized at such a massive scale for strengthening grassroots connections. We are all geared up to witness the way the eSports industry is growing. I feel happy to be associated with FEAI, and their support for the program will further boost engagement.”

Mr. Bhaichung Bhutia, President, of Teesta Esports Association and Founding Member, FEAI said, “Programs like these form the backbone of talent identification and scouting process. That’s how I got an avenue to eventually get noticed and participate in the football scouting feeder system. I am happy to see the way the Esports industry is shaping up in India and this is the chance for all esports enthusiasts to showcase their talent and make a smooth career path for themselves in this industry. This tour will not only encourage and support their talent but the participants with the most potential will get a chance to be a part of the Esports academy and train under the guidance of international coaches.”

The Esports tour will go across tournament regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Nagaland, and all other states of India. The participants will have to register themselves on FEAI’s website, and every participant will receive a participation certificate, with the winners being recognised as Esports athletes by FEAI. This will give the players not only recognition but also access to the FEAI roster of events throughout the calendar year. The participants with the most potential will get a chance to be a part of the Esports academy and train under the guidance of international coaches.

Vanity Wagon announces Kunal Verma as Vice President – Private Labels

Vanity Wagon, India’s first and largest clean beauty marketplace announced the appointment of their new VP for Private Labels – Kunal Verma. Kunal is a Creative professional with diverse and substantial restaurant management, operations, and marketing experience, as well as supply chain and project management knowledge.  

In 2007, Kunal began his career in the hospitality sector. Since then, he has worked for establishments like the Hyatt Regency Florida and Le Meridien Delhi. In 2011, Kunal began his entrepreneurial journey as a restaurateur by operating his kitchens in Delhi and Gurgaon under a variety of brand names. In addition to being in charge of P&L and operational analysis, Kunal was also in charge of brand marketing through the creation of marketing plans and overarching strategies, working side by side with in-restaurant management teams and staff.  

On this new journey with Vanity Wagon, Kunal Verma said, “The beauty industry is only getting stronger by the day and within that, the Clean Beauty industry is taking on to the global market exponentially. It’s not just a trend, but a way of life. Our value system is what we vouch for. With that in place, our vision is to keep going and be the pioneers of creating an ecosystem that audiences can rely on and trust. Every brand needs to identify operational inefficiencies and should be able to integrate new procedures and processes to impact the bottom line and increase profitability ”  

Kunal’s appointment is part of Vanity Wagon’s growth strategy for negotiating and implementing cost-saving measures without compromising the quality of the brand. 

Log4Shell/Iran Cyberattack

The breach of a U.S. government agency is realistically one of the many breaches that will come to light where threat actors successfully exploit Log4Shell. In the coming days, Tenable will release an alert examining the impact of Log4Shell, in which we found that nearly 3 out of 4 organizations are still vulnerable to the flaw. The reality is that full remediation of Log4Shell is difficult to achieve given its prevalence and the fact that whenever an organisation adds new assets, it could be reintroducing the vulnerability. The best way to thwart attackers is to remain diligent and consistent in remediation efforts. – Bob Huber, chief security officer, Tenable

Why tax planning is important for a successful financial plan

Authored by Amit Gupta, MD, SAG Infotech

When creating a financial plan, whether long-term or short-term, considering the tax implications is very crucial. Most people forget about taxes when planning finances and only think about them as the end of the year approaches. This is definitely not the best way to go about it. Tax planning should be an integral part of your financial planning in general. We will discuss here why as well as will talk about some of the most efficient ways to plan your taxes to save as much as you can by utilizing the various tax-saving investments and options available to citizens in India.

For most of us, the top ways to save taxes when filing Income tax returns are limited to buying insurance policies or investing in tax-saving mutual funds, or opening and investing in a PPF account. While all these options are brilliant ways to save tax, investing without proper planning and just for the sake of saving tax will prevent you from making the best out of all the available tax-saving investment options.

Why tax planning is needed

Tax planning refers to the process of managing your finances and investments such that you have to pay the lowest taxes possible.

While most salaried individuals are aware of the top tax-saving options covered under sections 80C, 80D, 80E, and so on, they fail to align their investments with their financial plans to get the best out of both worlds. This results in tax planning becoming a standalone and usually year-end activity, where they just end up investing in whatever seems best at the time to avail of the maximum deductions possible. Here’s why this is a problem.

Suppose that you have a yearly income of INR 5 lakh and you plan to save/invest 40% of it, i.e. INR 2 lakh. If you generally plan your finances at the start of the year in April, you might choose to allocate the entire sum of INR 2 lakh to your preferred investment venues, such as equity, debt, gold, real estate, and other options without worrying about taxation or IT return, which is not due for another year. But, that’s where you go wrong. When the filing period comes and you start preparing your IT returns in February or March, you’ll realise that none or only a small part of your investments are contributing to saving tax. Then, you’ll try or would want to invest in tax-saving venues to avail of as much deduction as possible. But, the problem is that you have no funds left for investing because you have already allocated those funds to other venues without bothering about tax implications. THIS IS WHY tax planning should be aligned with financial planning and not left as a year-end task.

Other than that, tax planning in line with your financial goals is also important to ensure your savings and returns are not eaten away by taxes. We have seen this happen countless times. Because people fail to pre-plan taxes to make the best use of tax-saving investments, they end up paying a lot more tax than they otherwise would, which affects their financial planning and goals.

Did you know efficient tax management is considered one of the core pillars of financial planning, with goal-based asset allocation, debt management, and adequate liquidity being the other ones?

How to integrate taxes into your financial planning

It is perfectly simple. Just consider taxes when planning your finances. Looking to start a SIP (systematic investment plan), think about an option where you can also save tax without compromising on returns. The idea is to consider returns in post-tax terms.

To start with, you should know about all the ways you can save tax, not just insurance policies and some saving schemes. There are many ways to save tax, including schemes such as Sukanya Samridhi, PPF, EPF, and others. Did you know your child’s education/school fees may also be eligible for a tax deduction and so can the rent paid by you on a rental property? If you are looking for a tax-saving option with high returns, you can consider NPS (national pension scheme) or ELSS (equity-linked saving scheme), where the funds are reinvested in market-linked instruments.

Do read about all types of tax-saving options and then consider them when planning your financial goals to keep your tax planning in sync with your financial plan.

TEDxGateway selects GENESIS BCW as communications partner for TEDxGatewaySalon: Breaking Barriers 2022

MUMBAI, November 18, 2022 – Genesis BCW, the communications agency built to move people for some of the best global and Indian companies, today announced its appointment as a communications partner for TEDxGatewaySalon: Breaking Barriers 2022, an annual in-person conference by TEDxGateway, India’s largest platform for discussing ideas and challenging conventions. Taking place at NCPA Mumbai at 4.00 pm IST on 18 November 2022, the event will bring together some of the world’s most inspiring voices who will use their personal stories to ignite conversations around important topics. Genesis BCW has been the exclusive communications partner for TEDxGateway for the last eight years.

TEDxGatewaySalon: Breaking Barriers 2022 spotlights eminent individuals who have gone beyond conventional barriers. Speakers will address standing up against social injustice, helping humanity explore spaces to help win confidently chart new paths, spearheading science and mythology, and creating an inclusive sports community.

The gathering aims to create a shift in perceptions with candid conversations and diverse performances from:

1. Seema Anand, mythologist, and storyteller
2. Srishti Bakshi, women’s rights advocate
3. Jessie Christiansen, Planet Hunter from NASA
4. Sadam Hanjabam, diversity and inclusion advocate
5. Sonam Kalra, singer, composer, and songwriter
6. Shweta Narayan, global climate and health campaigner
7. Kajal Odedra, author and activist
8. Jaya Row, spiritual leader
9. Shefali Shah, actor
10. Vikas Khanna, celebrity chef
11. Dimash Qudaibergen, Kazakh singer

“After hosting a series of events on–screen over the last two years, we are delighted to return with a very special in person TEDxGatewaySalon event to inspire audiences once again,” said Yashraj Akashi, Senior Ambassador and curator of TEDxGateway. “This time, the TEDx stage will host voices that are trailblazing their way to create a more humanitarian, diverse, inclusive, and culturally rich society by actively taking on challenges to break stereotypes. This gathering, unlike any other, will not only inspire but also compel us to challenge our limitations and to view the world through a different lens when we step out. We invite everyone to join us for a very special TEDxGatewaySalon,” Akashi continued.

“TEDxGatewaySalon: Breaking Barriers 2022 is bringing together multidisciplinary stakeholders who have gone beyond conventional barriers to make a mark for themselves,” said Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Executive Officer, Genesis BCW and BCW India Group. “As communication specialists, it is imperative to amplify these eminent voices and their revolutionary ideas. As a purpose-driven organization whose mission is to move people, Genesis BCW is proud to be a part of this global initiative by TEDxGatewaySalon.”

TEDxGatewaySalon: Breaking Barriers 2022 is in association with the Aditya Birla Group this time.