Archive: December 26, 2022

NMDC brings home 7 PRSI National Awards

Hyderabad, 26 December 2022: Navratna PSE NMDC won 7 awards at the PRSI National Awards 2022 in Bhopal on Sunday. The mining major was lauded for its Public Relations and CSR efforts towards building an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Chief Guest Shri Kailash VishwashSarang, Minister Medical Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh felicitated the company at the 44th PRSI All India Public Relations Conference. Mr Sanjay Dubey, DGM (Commercial) and Mr CH Srinivasa Rao, DGM (Corporate Communications) received the awards on behalf of NMDC.

The National Miner won the first position in Best PSU Implementing CSR, Best CSR Project for Childcare, and Outstanding Initiatives for Promoting Medical and Health categories. NMDC secured the second position for Best CSR Project for Women’s Development, Corporate Website, and Best Use of Social Media in a Corporate Campaign, while also collecting a third position for Best Communication Campaign (Internal Publics).

Congratulating his team, Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said, “NMDC is determined to build a unique corporate identity and brand voice. In strengthening our CSR and Public Relations efforts, we are committed to become a global mining company that keeps the community first.”

Don’t let motherhood hold you back”: Actress Sai Deodhar’s community helps women return to work with confidence

India 26 December 2022: Did you know that one in three women has thought about switching to a different job or reducing their workload due to family commitments? For mothers, it can be tough to balance career and family responsibilities. In fact, the pandemic led to more women leaving the workforce compared to men. Actress Sai Deodhar, known for her roles in popular TV shows like Udaan and Saara Akaash, took note of this issue and realized that getting back to work isn’t easy for women after a break, but it’s not impossible either!

To help motivate and inspire women to return to work after a break, Sai created a community called BACK2WORK on Coto, the social community app for women. Here, she will interact closely with women who can share their own experiences and find support in each other to start working again. This community is a place to discuss problems and possible solutions in their journey back to work and how to maintain a work-life balance.

Sai Deodhar knows first-hand what it is like to be away from work when prioritizing motherhood. She took a break from work for four years when her child was growing up. But her love for work made her come back to the set – not just as an actor, but as a writer, filmmaker, and producer too! While she acknowledges that she’s had incredible support from her husband and family for following her passion, Sai knows that the situation is not the same for a lot of women. She wants women not to lose sight of themselves while they’re busy with motherhood and to realize their true potential.

“Motherhood is the most beautiful thing that happens to a woman,” says Sai Deodhar. It makes us complete. But all the same, that and family commitments are some major reasons why women take a break from work. Though it is never the same for some women, a lot of them never get back to work. Reasons could be family support, feeling redundant or obsolete after a gap of many years, lack of trust and opportunities from the employer’s end, and dwindling self-confidence, to name a few.”

She further added, “I feel getting back to work is important for financial independence as well as growing and evolving as individuals. We, as mothers, should set an example for our kids that prioritizing and choosing things for our happiness is very important. With this perspective, I have created my ‘BACK2WORK’ community on Coto to unlock women’s infinite potential.”

Pic Credit: moes-art.com

Shyam Steel launches its new TVC Campaign featuring Virat Kohli & Anushka Sharma

India, December 2022: Shyam Steel one of the leading producers and manufacturers of primary TMT Bars launched its new TVC campaign featuring Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma. The new TVC is the extension of Shyam Steel’s “Hamesha Ke Liye Strong” campaign. The campaign aims to send across the brand message that strong bond of relationship is achieved through a perfect balance of strength and flexibility just like Shyam Steel Flexi Strong TMT bars. The TVC has been created by Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and the production house is Cornerstone. The TVC is directed by Abhishek Burman.

The balance of strength and flexibility keeps the foundation of the relationship strong which is also affiliated with Shyam Steel’s core brand philosophy. The TVC reflects on this thought process that when your dream home is built with Shyam Steel flexi-strong TMT bars they represent a correct balance of strength and flexibility which keeps your home strong forever. This is the third TVC in line with the Hamesha Ke Liye Strong Campaign.

The TVC Campaign showcases Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma enjoying a winter evening. To provide comfort to Anushka in this chilling weather, Virat offers his jacket to her but when Anushka sees Virat shivering too they both decide to share the jacket. This signifies the flexibility and understanding between the couple that strengthens the foundation of a relationship. Similarly, when houses are built with Shyam Steel flexi-strong TMT bars, such houses are more sustainable and have a strong foundation.

Speaking on the TVC campaign launch, Mr Lalit Beriwala, Director, Shyam Steel said ” The campaign narrative embodies the principle of what Shyam Steel stands as a brand with strength and flexibility at its core. The relationship we share with our closed one at home forms the crux of the strong foundation. The previous TVC’s were also very well received by the audience and the star power of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma will help us to establish a strong connect amongst our target group

The film narrates the story of simple everyday situations to highlight how flexibility in relationships keep the bond strong over years. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma add their own charm and star power that helps to connect with the audience till the last mile.” said Ms Sreeparna Gupta of Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

The TVC campaign will be promoted through a 360-degree approach. The TVC will be showcased in Digital platforms along with in News, Sports, Entertainment and GEC channels in TV and cinema halls. This will be followed by outdoor and print campaign to sustain the communication until the current financial year.

Link to the film: (10) Shyam Steel India | Grand Launch | Hindi | Virushka | #FlexiStrong – YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FaFYxJoJcw]

Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur hosts ‘Joy of Giving’ for NGO children to celebrate Christmas

Christmas is all about delicious plum cakes, beautifully decorated Christmas trees, vibrant decorations, and the glittering markets around the city. We all know that celebrations bring around a little change in our daily routine and make us feel happier. To celebrate this year’s Christmas, Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur has organised ‘Joy of Giving’ and invited NGO children over a brunch on December 23rd, 2022. Christmas is incomplete without Santa Claus and to make this day more special, different engagement activities including dance, songs, and games were organized for these kids. The event was winded up with a small cake-cutting ceremony and goodies & prize distribution to the children. Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur has also gifted Desktop Computer to all Three invited NGOs.

On this occasion, Mr. Amitabh Sharma, General Manager of Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur said “Christmas is enthusiastically celebrated everywhere as people get a break from their daily routine to enjoy and share moments of happiness. We are delighted to host the Christmas brunch for these kids. It was our pleasure to celebrate this joyful festive season with these children and bring a smile to their faces.”

“This is the season of Joy & Merriment and Christ is all about the giving to people. With our small initiative to do good for society, we invited three NGO Karunalaya Balgruha, Balgram Panhala & Jigneyasa Trust. This is all about kindness, helping, love and unselfishness. Jesus also said it is more bless to give than receive. When we do good to others we receive great happiness. There is certain Joy in getting something. Happiness is in giving we believe.” said, Abdesh Kumar, HR Manager Sayaji Hotel Kolhapur.

Hon’ble Tamil Nadu Minister Thiru. Siva V.Meyyanathan inaugurated the conference on “Planning for a Net Zero City”

Chennai: Hon’ble Minister for Environment, Pollution Control & Ex-Servicemen, Government of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. Siva V. Meyyanathaninaugurated the conference on “Planning for a Net Zero City” in Chennai recently. The conference was organized by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) under the world urban Campaign by UN-Habitat. The NIUA is the Knowledge Partner and the Environment Management Centre is an associate partner for the event.

Hon’ble Minister Thiru. Siva V. Meyyanathanwas the Chief Guest of the event; Dr.UmamaheshwaranRajasekar, Chair Urban Resilience – Global Resilience Cities Network, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi delivered the unique address in the inaugural session. More than 100 delegates representing various sectors participated in the conference.
Sessions like “Pathways to Net Zero”, “Making Net Zero happen in Chennai”, and “Way Forward for the City” was covered in the daylong conference.

Eminent speakers including renowned experts such as Mr. T. Shivaraman, MD & CEO – Orient Green Power Co. Ltd., Dr. Prasad Modak, MD – Environmental Manage Centre Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Indumathi M Nambi, Professor – IIT Madras, Mr. Deepak Srivastava, IFS, Member Secretary – Tamil Nadu State Wet Land Authority and many others spoke at the conference.

Net Zero: Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance. It has been established that, in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a liveable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C (as called for in the Paris Agreement) emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

India’s Commitments towards Net Zero: At the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), our Prime Minister made a commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow to achieve a Net Zero emission target by 2070.

The COP27 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt concluded less than a month ago, with a decision to establish a new “Loss and Damage” Fund. This may be considered a milestone, from the point of view of apportioning responsibility to developed nations as they have been historically responsible for the present state of affairs.

Initiatives by Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu government is drafting many solutions to leapfrog the State to a greener, cleaner, and more resilient State. The key elements for the transformation are Affordability, Sustainability, and Scalability. The TN Government in a landmark decision accorded permission to establish the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, a Special Purpose Vehicle to implement three key missions – Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, the Green Tamil Nadu Mission, and the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission.

While broad plans are being made for the State, it is necessary to have a concrete plan to make Chennai a Net Zero City, integrating the State’s policies to apply to the city.

Pic Credit: predictpr.com

Luxury hair extension brand Hair Originals raises $1.25 Mn in Pre-Series A funding from JITO Angel Network, Anicut Capital, Kesh Kala, and others

December 26, 2022, India: Hair Originals, India’s first AI based luxury hair extensions and wig brand offering 100 percent natural Indian human hair raised $1.25million from Anicut Capital, Kesh Kala Family Office, JITO Angel Network (JAN), Lets Venture, Dexter Angels, Pankaj Chaddah, Ex Co-founder Zomato and Ahana Gautam, Founder, Open Secret.  Dexter Capital acted as the exclusive advisor for Hair Originals

The luxury hair extension brand aims to harness the funds to scale their business operations by 4X, achieve 100 Cr ARR by the end of 2024, expand to 25 cities PAN India with experience centres in 5 major cities, and to introduce their D2C services in the US market. The company aims to create a brand value that can generate over 70% of its revenue from D2C Channels through aggressive content and influencer-led marketing and enhancing the manufacturing capacity. Additionally, the brand intends to accelerate hiring and venture into emerging technology such as AI-driven “magic mirror” and automation in backend manufacturing.

“We are excited to have raised such encouraging funding at this juncture of our journey. We have been registering around 4X growth YoY in the last 3 years with profitability. We did our extensive market research in 20+ markets prior to launch and are thus understanding the dynamics and nuances of the industry. With our extensive marketing efforts, we want to educate people especially those suffering from hair loss about the offerings. We are bringing on a lot of salon partners across numerous locations so that every customer in India could purchase the products and receive installation for free. Moreover, owing to our history with technology, we also aim to utilise the funds to utilise AR/VR and AI capabilities and provide an immersive experience to all the customers. The popularity of their hair extensions has now leapt all bounds. With the continuous support from our investors, we anticipate achieving 100 Cr ARR by the end of 2024 with a sizable percentage coming from the US D2C markets too”, said, Jitendra Sharma, Founder and CEO, Hair Originals.

“We are proud to add this unique and ethical hair solutions provider to our portfolio.  We expect Hair Originals to not just tap the national market but cater to the growing demand for hair extensions globally. We are especially drawn to the company’s ethical procurement philosophy and hope for a long and fruitful association,” said Pooja Mehta, Chief Investment Officer, JITO Angel Network.

Hair Originals was one of the very few startups in Shark Tank India which got offers from all 5 sharks. Eventually, Mr. Peyush Bansal (Lenskart), Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com) and Ashneer Grover (Ex-MD of BharatPe) are currently on Hair Originals’ Cap Table. Earlier this year, the company raised INR 30 Mn in the pre-Seed funding round, where the company received angel investments from marquee investors. Hair Originals’ products are now exported to luxury salons in 22 countries and have reigned in the B2B sector by partnering with top luxury salons.

The current funding round was led by a series of investors including Mr. Manish Chhabra, the founder of leading hair care company HRI (which owns brands like ColorStreax, Kesh Kala etc). With this strategic investment, Hair Originals will leverage the last-mile experience of Mr. Chhabra in the Hair Care industry along with their presence in 5000 Salons.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global hair extension market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% to $ 3.43 billion in 2028, from $2.38 billion in 2021. Rising demand for premium quality grooming products, as well as increasing incidents of hair diseases and surging ageing population are factors that are seen fuelling growth for this segment.

“It is indeed a very important milestone for us to have JITO, Kesh Kala, and all our new investors on board. We also take this opportunity to thank the constant trust that our existing investors have shown in us. Their faith empowers us to strengthen our resolve to disrupt the hair extensions market globally,” added Jitendra Sharma, Founder of Hair Originals.

Deltin Royale Begins The ‘Final Countdown’- Mega Celebrations For Christmas And New Year’s Eve

India, December 26, 2022:The year-end countdown has started and Goa is all decked up and buzzing as ever to usher in 2023. Riding high on this festive spirit, Deltin Royale, Asia’s largest gaming and entertainment destination, has opened a series of gala events to amaze and entertain its guests for 10 days. The guests visiting Deltin Royale will experience non-stop, round-the-clock, celebratory activities from December 23, 2022, till January 01, 2023.

Deltin Royale will be hosting a plethora of acts and events performed by some of the world’s finest and most talented artists. There will be intriguing shows and performances from international and Bollywood dancers, the best of Goa’s bands, and instrumentalists. That is not all, guests will also get a chance to witness the thrill of exquisite acts like the Las Vegas and Arabian acts, Moulin range act, LED robots, Aerial acts and Acrobatics, and much more as we gleefully bid goodbye to 2022 and welcome 2023.

As the icing on the cake, there are mega prizes on offer every day (T&C apply); like iPhone14 Pro, Apple Smartwatches, INR 3 lakh worth of playing coupons, etc.

Commenting on hosting the one-of-a-kind event, Mr. Anil Malani, CEO, of Deltin, said, “New Year celebrations are always special, and people look forward to distinct experiences. Like all other events hosted at Deltin Royale, our guests would get a chance to soak in Deltin’s grandeur throughout 10 days with exciting performances, unlimited lip-smacking delicacies, free-flowing drinks, and non-stop gaming. We cannot wait for the guests to enjoy a unique blend of luxury gaming, hospitality, and live entertainment.”

‘BestAssured,’ a highly secure and rigorous safety protocol, is implemented on board to ensure that guests’ experiences are anxiety-free at Deltin Royale.

Pic Credit: kaizzencomm.com/

O2O Marketplace OhLocal Aims Exponential Growth in 2023, Looking to Generate Business Opportunity of Over INR 90 Crore for its Partnered Retailers and Local Sellers Across India

India 26 December 2022: OhLocal – India’s first-of-its-kind O2O (online-to-offline) local commerce marketplace platform that is connecting local merchants with consumers in their respective locations cities via its flagship Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled platform – has announced they are currently looking to scale-up operations exponentially and in parallel increase the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) on their platform in the upcoming year, i.e. 2023. Additionally, by 2023-end, OhLocal will be targeting to partner with 10,000+ sellers/merchants across India and thereby creating an over INR 90 Cr business opportunity for them. Also, at the same time, OhLocal aims to expand its tested and proven hyperlocal hybrid-commerce platform to at least 20 cities in India, while adding roughly 300-500 local merchants in each of these cities.

OhLocal is a next-gen hybrid-commerce marketplace committed to bridging these gaps between online and offline commerce in India, providing the best of both worlds – the convenience of online shopping and the trust and feel of offline shopping. OhLocal works towards bridging the gaps between local sellers and buyers in a specific city/location by ensuring that a consumer can get prices from multiple local sellers before buying any product and can choose the best deal in terms of pricing. In fact, OhLocal, through its cutting-edge tech, is able to reverse the entire process of e-commerce which leads to better prices and more effective product discovery and availability in the local market, wherein a buyer requests a product. OhLocal’s unique business model and platform have created a win-win-win opportunity and optimal value creation for all stakeholders in the new-age commerce ecosystem i.e. End-Users (Customers), Brands, and Sellers.

Speaking about the platform’s growth plans, Devashish Goyal, Founder & CEO, OhLocal says, “Come 2023, and we at OhLocal are aiming to achieve aggressive growth at multiple levels – starting from growing our user base to partnered seller base and much more. Off late, a dire need has been felt to digitize local sellers and retailers in India and enable them to embrace emerging technologies in such a way that they are able to play on their strengths. And we at OhLocal are committed to doing just that. In the coming year, while aiming for a 10x growth in our partnered merchant volume, we at OhLocal shall simultaneously strive to achieve at least a 17X spike in terms of business generation for them. Besides growing significantly on the consumer and partnered seller side, we will also look to expand to new geographies soon and would be introducing new product categories such as furniture, fashion, and mattresses, among others, with our flagship hybrid-commerce platform.

As of date, the OhLocal platform has onboarded around 800+ local sellers across 5 cities in India – including various types of sellers – from small retailers and shop owners to medium and large sellers and so on, who have already received an overall business opportunity of INR 5.4 Cr from OhLocal. And in the process, OhLocal has also helped these sellers to save significant amounts in commissions, which they would otherwise need to pay to large e-commerce giants in order to enlist and sell their products online. Notably, the average commission fees charged by most big e-commerce websites or platforms tend to be 8-10%, whereas on OhLocal, getting onboarded onto their platform is a simple and free-of-cost procedure for all types of local sellers/merchants.

Notably, to date, OhLocal has acquired around 10k users; and going forward, they are looking to strategically grow the platform’s user base to at least 5 lakhs by end of 2023. Whereas from a geographical expansion standpoint, by 2023-end, OhLocal — which is currently present in Meerut, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad – plans to be soon venturing into Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Gwalior, Jaipur, Udaipur, among other cities.

Pic Credit: PRandit Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Honasa Consumer, Mamaearth Parent Company, Stregthens Corporate Governance With 50% Independent Board Members

Bangalore, December 26, 2022: Honasa Consumer Ltd. (HCL), the parent company of brands such as Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Aqualogica, and Ayuga, is excited to share that their board now comprises 50%, independent board members. The appointment of independent directors on the board is highly significant to ensure that the board considers the interests of shareholders foremost. It is likely to support independent decision-making and to moderate conflicting views and opinions by board members in favor of the shareholders.

The board of Honasa Consumer Limited comprises six members, namely, Ghazal Alagh, Varun Alagh, Ishaan Mittal, Vivek Gambhir, Namita Gupta, and Subramaniam Somasundaram. Out of these, Ghazal and Varun Alagh are the company’s co-founders, and Ishaan Mittal is a nominee of Sequoia Capital on the board of HCL. Whereas, Vivek Gambhir, Namita Gupta, and Subramaniam Somasundaram are independent board members who have decades of experience in the FMCG, and the eCommerce marketplace, hence the understanding, evaluation, and mentoring imparted by the board on HCL’s plans, and performance are extremely pivotal in charting the way forward for the organization. These independent board members will be part of the statutory committee, audit committee, nomination, and remuneration committee, stakeholder committee and other committees wherein the independent directors may constitute more than 65% to ensure compliance with all parameters of corporate governance measures like transparency, control measures et. al.

Commenting on this, Varun Alagh, Co-Founder and CEO, Honasa Consumer Ltd. said, “An independent board is critical for any organization for unbiased decision-making. In the past, we have been fortunate to have such experienced individuals on the board of Honasa Consumer Limited. Our board members have helped keep checks and balances in place to ensure we take calculated risks and mitigate tough situations.”

Ramanpreet Sohi, CFO, Honasa Consumer Ltd., “In order to maintain governance checks and balances and ensure transparency and control measures, companies appoint independent board members. Over the last 5 years, Honasa Consumer has witnessed fast-paced growth. While the statutory requirement is 33% of independent board members, we have opted to keep 50% of our board as independent board members, to ensure readiness for the future. They have been instrumental in ensuring strict checkpoints through our working over the years.”

Pic Credit: Adfactors PR