Archive: November 30, 2022

Absolute in collaboration with DigiSafe launches Digifasal, first-of-its-kind, DIY insurance for farmers

India, Nov 2022: Absolute, a plant bioscience company in collaboration with DigiSafe has launched India’s first-of-its-kind Do-It-Yourself insurance marketplace – Digifasal. The product will be introduced on Upaj – Absolute’s AgCloud ecosystem that provides a one-stop-solution to a million farmers at every stage of crop production – with services like soil testing, advisory, and now, insurance. This is in
collaboration with Absolute and Digisafe to provide financial support to farmers leading to sustainable agricultural practices.

Insurance penetration in rural India is less than 4 percent owing to pricing, trust deficit, and delayed claim settlement processes. With DIY insurance marketplace, farmers will have the freedom to select parametric insurance products from several insurers available at their respective pin codes. Digifasal, will complement the existing insurance schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, and
mitigate roadblocks by providing affordable insurance options to farmers. With this partnership, Absolute has leveraged DigiSafe’s InsureTech capabilities to boost insurance penetration in India. Founded by Anupam Shrey and Suman Roy Choudhury, DigiSafe Insurance is a renowned insurance service provider solving multifaceted issues in the rural insurance sector, promoting country-wide financial inclusion leveraging technology.

Sharing his thoughts on DIY insurance feature, Sourabh Bagla, Director, Upaj, Absolute said, “Adverse climatic conditions have resulted in India losing about 69 million hectares of crop area in the past 6 years. As a result, hundreds of farmers have succumbed to the burden of debts. As agriculture holds a significant position in the Indian economy, timely insurance payouts and security covers can be a huge boost to the farmers and the sector. Taking this into account, we have transformed our personalized farm-specific advisory application, Upaj to now enable customizable insurance to the farmers, furthering out pursuit to make a farmer’s life easier and more successful”.

Anupam Shrey, Founder & MD, Digisafe said, “We are proud to associate with Absolute’s mission to transform agriculture globally. Our synergies will enable us to reach millions of farmers and achieve our vision of solving accessibility, availability, and affordability in the rural insurance space.”

Developed by over 100+ AI and ML engineers with extensive research over a period of 7 years, Upaj has continuously added modules to make precision agriculture easier to implement.

JIS Group announces Professor (Dr.) Partha S Ghosh as the new Chairman of the Board of Governance of JIS College of Engineering

Kolkata,  November 2022: Educational conglomerate JIS Group has announced Professor (Dr.) Partha S Ghosh is the new Chairman of the Board of Governance of JIS College of Engineering, who would also work as the Mentor & Advisor of JIS Group-Educational Initiatives. The announcement was made during a Press Conference on Tuesday in Presence of Sardar Taranjit Singh, Managing Director of JIS Group, Mr. Mridul Pathak, Overseas Advisor, JIS University, Partha Sarkar, Principal JIS College of Engineering, Ms. Sheela Singh Ghosh, Vice President, JIS Group and Director of JIS Group Mr. Simarpreet Singh. The Press Conference was followed by a one-to-one interactive session with Dr. Ghosh during which he shared his plans and ambitions with JIS College of Engineering.

An Alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP) & Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston – USA. He was a Partner & Head of McKinsey in South East Asia covering Japan, China, & India as a part. He is also the founder and owner of Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership IIT, which KGP launched this year. Apart from being the esteemed Chairman, Dr. Ghosh would also hold the position of a Mentor & Advisor of JIS Group-Educational Initiatives.

Sardar Taranjit Singh, Managing Director of JIS Group commented, “It is an honor for our entire JIS Group to have Dr. Partha S Ghosh as a Mentor & Advisor of JIS Group-Educational Initiatives. We are certain he would make a noteworthy contribution as the Chairman of the Board of Governance of JIS College of Engineering through which our college will reach the zenith of its success.”

Speaking on the occasion of helming the position of Chairman of the Board of Governance Professor (Dr.) Partha S Ghosh said, “There could not have been a better opportunity than working as the Chairman of JIS College of Engineering at this point. I am extremely certain about being able to do justice to the faith and confidence the entire JIS Group has shown for me. The ultimate aim is to brighten up the name of JIS it has carved for itself by putting in years of hard work.

Festive hiring for temp and flexi staff sees massive jump this season: Quess General Staffing

Mumbai, November 2022: Quess Corp, India’s leading business services provider, has witnessed over 73% increase in staffing requirements in the festive period spanning from August to October 2022 compared to the previous year. As many as 1,00,000 order books were closed in this period considering that e-commerce and logistics, retail, and BFSI sectors heightened their hiring efforts in line with surging demand.

While seasonal sales saw some recovery last year from the impact of the pandemic, this festive season has been a clear indicator for the growth of the Indian economy with an upward spiral in job demand across several consumer facing industries. According to data from Quess, job roles such as picker, packer, helper, sales promoter, in-shop sales executive, trainee, and production trainee have seen a 39%(YoY) increase in demand this festive season.

Commenting on the hiring trends for the festive season, Nitin Dave, CEO, Quess Staffing said, “Given that the economy has now recovered from the effects of the pandemic, there is tremendous hiring happening in the e-commerce and retail sectors for temp and flexi staff. People want to buy products, clothing, and services for their homes and daily needs. Hospitality, automobile, telecom segments are also flourishing and in dire need of direct and indirect staff. The festive season is also a time when popular e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart, and others introduce season sales, leading to high website traction. This, in turn, largely improves the demand for delivery and warehouse professionals.”

This festive season, retail and e-commerce segments witness high year-on-year growth

Recruitment trends across the BFSI industry have spiked with consistent hiring activities throughout the festive months of August (up 89%), September (up 98%), and October (up 194%) this year as compared to the previous year. With the consistent innovation in the banking and insurance industry in India, the demand for skilled workers in the segment continues to soar.

The e-commerce and logistics industry saw some fluctuation in hiring, with an impressive 10% growth in August, which was followed by a hiring slump of 23% in September. However, the segment recovered quickly, with an impressive 59% spike in October nearing the end of the festive season. Moreover, the National Logistics Policy (NLP) announced recently is also expected to positively impact job creation in the Indian manufacturing and logistics industry.

The demand for temporary staff in the FMCG sector, largely buoyed by the absence of pandemic curbs this year, saw a remarkable 2300% increase in demand setting a record high post pandemic. The sale of entry-level goods were severely affected by the pandemic and it is heartening to see that there has been not only recovery, but substantial growth noted in the segment. FMCG hiring continued to see an annual growth this September (up 260%) but fell slightly in October (down 28%) as seasonal requirements slowed down.

Similarly, hiring in retail was on the rise throughout the festivities with August (up 91%), September (up 142%), and October (up 32%) reflecting positive demand trends. Owing to the scale up of 5G telecom services, hiring demand in the sector has increased by 214% in the month of August 2022. Eyeing the boom of 5G market, companies are focused on launching future ready fibre solutions and products to fulfil the demands of the growing telecom industry. The months of September (up 251%) and October (up 93%) also noted an upsurge in hiring on a year-on-year basis. It is likely that there will be a high demand for skilled talent across cybersecurity and network architecture job roles in the telecommunication sector.

Demand in metros and Tier 1 cities continues to grow

The overall demand for hiring in metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Chennai has increased during the festive period accompanied with high sales and growing footfall across physical stores.

Period for the report

The Quess Staffing report details various trends in hiring during the festive period of August, September, and October 2022 as compared to the same time period the previous year.

Tork Motors Inaugurates Its First Experience Centre in Pune

Pune, 30 November 2022: India’s first and fast-growing electric motorcycle manufacturer, Tork Motors today introduced its first-ever experience centre in India. The new centre will display the revolutionary KRATOS of all the available colours, along with multiple test-ride options. Located near Law College in Pune, the centre will cater to a growing customer base for unmatched sales and after-sales experience.

With an aim to offer a distinct ownership experience to the valued customers, the new centre will offer the best combination of digital and physical format. This modern format creates an enriching ownership experience for the customers with state-of-the-art concepts and designs, along with a team of a talented workforce.

On the occasion, Mr. Kapil Shelke, Founder and CEO of Tork Motors, said, “We are thrilled to introduce the first-ever Tork Experience centre in Pune for our customers. The centre is designed to offer a unique experience to Tork customers based in and around Pune. The showroom with its contemporary engagement features will offer a perfect mix of digital and physical rendezvous to the visitors. This inauguration is a step forward to achieving our strategic vision, as it will also serve as a model outlet for the business prospects. Going forward, we will offer this experience centre to other cities to cater to the growing popularity of KRATOS in the country.”

Tork Motors launched its first product – KRATOS and KRATOS-R in January, this year. The KRATOS is priced at INR 1,22,499 [ex-showroom after subsidy in Maharashtra] and KRATOS-R is priced at INR 1,37,499 [ex-showroom after subsidy in Maharashtra]. Consumers can book KRATOS and KRATOS-R by visiting the company’s official website at www.booking.torkmotors.com

2baconil’s Campaign Ropes In Actors Sameera Reddy, Neha Dhupia, And Chhavi Mittal To Initiate A Conversation About Smoking & Its Adverse Effects

Ahmedabad, November 2022: 2baconil, a leading brand of Rusan Pharma Ltd. that offers nicotine replacement therapy, has collaborated with actors Sameera Reddy, Neha Dhupia, and Chhavi Mittal to spread awareness against smoking. #TheyAreOnTheWorstSide highlights that 2baconil stands by those who wish to quit smoking. It is an unconventional approach that initiates a dialogue about family members being at risk when you smoke apart from affecting the smokers’ health. The campaign is life on Instagram and YouTube and the DVCs have been posted throughout the month.

The three DVCs portray the actors delivering a message of how smoking is detrimental to not only smokers but also their loved ones, who are at risk themselves and face the repercussions of the smoker’s health deteriorating.

In a family, mothers are the support system concerned about the members’ well-being. Since all three actors are mothers, the purpose of this collaboration was to tap into the popularity base of these mom influencers who would then resonate with the ethos of the campaign.

“All of us are aware of the adverse effects of smoking or chewing tobacco but few of us are able to help others who want to give up smoking with the right options. This campaign aims to acknowledge the emotions of our loved ones and how one’s habits affect them. We have spread this message through like-minded public personalities who want to help create awareness and look out for our family and friends who are on the worst side of these habits,” said Malavika Saxena, Director- Marketing, Rusan Pharma Ltd.

“Campaign was conceived to strike a conversation with smokers and position 2baconil as a companion in the journey as and when they decide to quit smoking. To integrate the idea of the campaign with its desired impact, we bring to the fore celebrity moms with a confident say in the cause. All three featured individuals hold true to the virtue of the campaign and its message” said Rajiv Sharma, Director, of Zero Gravity Communications.

Founded in 2014, Zero Gravity communications is an award-winning full-service agency. The company’s portfolio includes brands such as Goyal & Company, Jivraj9, Flamingo Health, Gopal Namkeen, MYBYK, etc.

Telecalling continues to be the most popular job with 60 percent YoY growth in job applications

Bengaluru, 30 November 2022: A professional’s career growth is defined not only by their technical and analytical abilities but also by the soft skills developed over the years, irrespective of the field they choose to work in. India’s leading jobs and professional networking platform, apna.co recently spoke with its employer base to understand a key skill they look out for while hiring and communication emerged as the top one. There is empirical evidence to suggest that communication skills have a huge role to play in the career progression of individuals irrespective of the role and is required by all, from the CEO of the company to the staff. One such field that helps in improving and polishing communication in a professional is ‘telecalling/telecommunication’ which now, itself, can be defined as a skill.

In fact, in the last one year alone, there has been a massive increase in the number of professionals applying for the role of telecalling. According to apna.co, there has been a 60 percent increase in job applications for the role of telecalling executives. From the applications received from users, a whopping majority 42 percent were women.

Interestingly, around 61 percent of users opted for work-from-home telecalling jobs, which can be attributed to the kind of flexibility such a job offers, even now as offices have started to reopen.

Telecalling jobs became a lucrative career option in India post the IT boom in the 1990s, when some of the biggest multinationals and Fortune 500 companies started outsourcing their work to India. To become a successful telecaller, professionals also need to be active listeners, have great communication and problem-solving skills, and have the ability to retain and recall crucial information in real time. This makes telecalling an important skill to nurture and hone, even for someone who doesn’t work in a KPO or a BPO.

Apna also recorded a massive 76 percent increase in the job posts for the telecalling category. In fact, on an average, around 1200 jobs were posted everyday for telecalling alone. Cities such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru continued having the highest requirement for telecaller roles. As compared to last year, apna app recorded the highest telecalling job posts from SMBs across industries. There were also similar offers from consultancy firms, education firms, and media houses among other fields.

Apna.co witnessed a notable surge in users looking for telecalling jobs, especially from cities such as Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata. Cities like Lucknow, Pune and Patna recorded a marked increase in the number of telecalling job applications, clearly highlighting how telecalling has penetrated deeper into Bharat.

For freshers as well, telecalling has become amongst the most sought after jobs to kick start their careers, according to the data shared by apna, around 60 percent of registered freshers on the platform applied to a telecalling job in the last year alone.

The jobs and professional networking platform also reported that users from metro cities like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai were more comfortable choosing telecalling jobs in other languages, apart from English and Hindi. The majority of telecalling job applications received were for English and Hindi languages.

“Post the pandemic, telecalling has been one of the most sought-after jobs on our platform. Many users from across the country have been applying for night-shift telecalling jobs, to enhance their incomes. While the demand from users has been on a positive trajectory, there has also been a rise in demand from our partners. We are confident that this will remain one of the top job sectors in the coming months, and we will continue to assist our partners in their hiring requirements.” added Manas Singh, Chief Business Officer, apna.co

The data revealed by apna.co, highlights the importance and popularity of telecalling/telecommunications amongst the professionals over the years. A well paying field, telecalling will continue to see YoY growth at least for the next decade and will contribute in developing soft skills amongst the workforce.

Gulf Oil Launches Its ‘Dumdaro Ka Dumdaar’ Campaign Featuring Ms Dhoni and a Newly Launch Product With 1000 Hours of Run Time

November 30, 2022: Gulf Oil Lubricants, a Hinduja Group company, has released a new ad film as part of its ‘Dumdaro ka Dumdaar’ campaign, featuring brand ambassador MS Dhoni. Aligned with the brand’s objective of offering sustainable and energy-efficient products, this campaign marks the Re-launch of Gulf XHD Supreme+ 15W-40 tractor engine oil. The newly engineered product is the first of its kind in the Indian tractor lubricant market providing 1,000 hours of drain claim. This sets a new benchmark in the Indian lubricant industry as Gulf Oil becomes the first lubricant player to offer 1,000 hours of drain intervals to farmers in India. This also comes at a time when consumers are looking for more value from the products they buy.

The ad film opens with a surprised look on Dhoni’s face as he hears a piece of news about him completing 1,000 in Phulpur village. To investigate further, he drives to the village to meet the new Dhoni. On the way, slogans to cheer Dhoni are painted all over the village walls. On reaching the field he realizes that villagers are cheering for a farmer and his tractor that has been running/plowing land continuously for over 1000 hours with the use of Gulf XHD Supreme+ engine oil. The Ad was conceptualized by OPN Advertising and executed by Bubblewrap Films.

Planning Director, Bala Manian said: “We wanted our creative concept to be straightforward, focusing on the key messaging of Gulf XHD Supreme+ 15W-40 tractor engine oil providing 1,000 hours of drain interval time. The campaign portrays the product as the new Dhoni among tractor engine oils for Indian farmers. This connection will strengthen product recall and boost confidence not only among farmers but also among retailers and mechanics.”

Speaking on the new ad film, Ravi Chawla, MD & CEO at Gulf Oil Lubricants said “Gulf Oil is a pioneer of providing long drain solutions to our consumers. We have been offering products that changed the market consumption patterns. Gulf XHD Supreme+ is yet another long-drain product that we roll out for the farmer community providing them more value for their money. This product is launched after rigorous trials were conducted in tractors that actually operated in fields. This product is a testament to our strong R&D team that is bringing about a shift to the lubricant industry and being more environmentally and climate-conscious.”

Gulf Oil is a thought leader brand in the lubricant industry that understands the hardships of farmers when it comes to tractor maintenance. Farmers directly rely on their machines for their daily operations. Proper tractor maintenance requires the application of lubricating solutions that can help agricultural professionals overcome daily challenges. To help them to do so, Gulf Oil introduced engine oil with 1,000 hours of drain claim. Now, longer oil change intervals can save customers not only maintenance costs but would also improve the yield from Tractor uptime for longer periods. That too, without sacrificing tractor performance.

Shahi Exports Wins two International Green Apple Environment Awards in the categories of Water Efficiency and Carbon Reduction

New Delhi, November 2022: Shahi Exports, India’s largest apparel manufacturer and exporter, was declared the winner of two Green Apple Environment Awards 2022. Shahi has won a silver award in ‘Water Efficiency’ for denim production and a bronze award in the ‘Carbon Reduction’ category for mitigating carbon dioxide emissions.

Instituted in 1994, the International Green Apple Awards are conferred by the UK-based Green Organization and receive entries from Governments, Ministries, and Regional Authorities as well as companies, organizations, and communities, across the private and public sectors across the globe. This year close to 500 nominations were submitted.

Shahi Exports is a vertically integrated, diversified company with over 115,000 employees across nine states of India and over fifty factories, and three fabric manufacturing units. Commenting on winning the global recognition, MA Prasad, COO of Operations, Shahi Exports said, “The awards are just recognition of Shahi’s meaningful interventions. Our denim production factories are equipped with best-in-class water efficiency technologies that help us recycle nearly 100 % water used during the process. In addition, we have achieved Zero Liquid Discharge, and through various green initiatives, we have created one of the most sustainable denim operations.”

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global GHG emissions and 20% of global industrial-water pollution. Climate change is a reality, and India has committed to mitigating 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030.

Expressing satisfaction with this global recognition, Mr. Shridatta Veera, Assistant Vice President of Central Maintenance and Environmental Sustainability, said, “Driven by our company’s sustainability vision and policy, we have realized the need to act against climate change. Moving towards green energy helps reduce carbon footprint; hence we installed solar power plants with a total of 84 MW capacity to meet our requirements. Our initiatives have helped us reduce 448,000 MT of carbon emissions in the last three years. Shahi is on the path of mitigating 1 million tonnes of CO2 by 2026. Receiving an award for this milestone is heartening, and it motivates us to further on our mitigation journey.”

The award was presented by Jayne Drant, Chief Commercial Officer of Nurture Landscapes, at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament, London, on November 21, 2022. The judges of the award shared their thoughts on Shahi’s win, The textile industry is often in the spotlight for its social and environmental impact. Shahi Exports welcomes this attention as they support and contribute to India’s reduction targets of almost half a million tonnes of CO2 saved in 2 years and much more to come. As India’s largest clothing manufacturer, Shahi wants to be among the greenest. They have added sustainability to most aspects of the production system. The push to reduce water use is a prime example, using less than half the water typically consumed in the denim manufacturing process.

The Green Apple marks a milestone in Shahi’s continued journey towards sustainability excellence. Shahi Exports is proud to have the opportunity to uphold the title of Green World Ambassador.