Archive: March 25, 2023

IOB raised Rs.1000 Crore @ 9.00% Through BASEL III TIER II Bonds Issue

Chennai: Indian Overseas Bank on 24.03.2023 has successfully mobilized Tier II Bonds of Rs.1000 crore (Rupees One Thousand Crores Only). The Bank came up with Basel III Compliant Tier II Series V Bonds issue with Base Size of Rs.200 crore and Green Shoe option of Rs.800 crore. The bidding was held on 23.03.2023 on BSE Electronic Biding Platform. The Bank received various bids up to Rs.1025 crore against base issue size of Rs.200 crore. The Bank accepted bids of amount up to Rs.1000 crore @ 9.00 % against bid received of Rs.1025 crore. The issue was oversubscribed by 5 times of base issue size.

PMJ Jewels Flagship Store launched in Jayanagar, Bengaluru

25 March 2023: PMJ Jewels, South India’s most loved fine jewellery brand, today launched its new flagship store at Jayanagar, Bengaluru. Ms. Usha Thulasiram (Director, Lahari Music) along with celebrity influencer- Mithali Sagar (House of MISU),  Dr Shruthi Gowda, Dr Sailaja Vallabhaneni, Shri Kushal Kumar Jain – Chairman, PMJ Jewels and Mr.Manish Borundia– PMJ Jewels Director – South inaugurated the new store. This is PMJ’s 27^th store in South India and the 4th store in Bengaluru, as part of the brand’s aggressive expansion plans.

The new flagship store at Jayanagar, Bengaluru promises to be an iconic landmark destination for high-end jewellery, offering designs ranging from Heritage to Contemporary Diamond to Traditional Temple jewellery. The new flagship store at Jayanagar which is spread over 20000 sft with 4 floors will be hosting more than 10000+ never-seen-before handcrafted designer wedding jewellery in diamond and gold designs. The store will enthral jewellery enthusiasts as an ‘Experience Centre’ and a place where creative thinking and innovative jewellery ideas are translated into exquisite pieces of jewellery that are combined with high-quality and craftsmanship.

Jewellery at PMJ has always stood as an epitome of classic glamour, a significant fashion essential and carry generations-worth of sentimental value while making for distinct markers of love and tradition. Resonating the inimitable charm of its bridal jewellery collection, PMJ Jewels, the new flagship store in Jayanagar, Bengaluru will include a wide range of collections that was never witnessed by the people of Garden City.

The store is also displaying the ‘Largest Bridal Collection’ ever witnessed by Bengaluru from 24th March to 30th March. The display will have exclusively crafted designs across diamonds, gold, solitaires along with exclusive Polki collection, and special wedding jewellery ranging from extravagant to simple, traditional to modern and also everyday light wear creations with a focus on region-specific jewellery keeping in mind the discerning jewellery enthusiasts of Bengaluru.

Speaking at the new flagship store launch Ms. Usha Thulasiram, Director, of Lahari Music said, “I am very happy to be part of the launch of this iconic flagship store. PMJ Jewels have a huge variety of collections in diamond jewellery, which is hand-crafted. The people of Bengaluru will definitely witness a superior craftsmanship with designs from delicate pieces to extravagant along with jewellery subjected to top-notch quality and precision at PMJ jewels.”

Special Guest Mithali Sagar House of MISU, a celebrity influencer sharing her thoughts at the new flagship store launch said, “I feel extremely delighted to be part of this new store launch of PMJ Jewels. An unwavering commitment to crafting world-class jewellery rooted in Indian Tradition has made PMJ Jewels the most loved jewellery brand. People from every corner of Bengaluru with different cultures and traditions also will surely love the collections at the new flagship store of PMJ”.

Expressing their joy at the inauguration of the store Shri Kushal Kumar Jain – Chairman, PMJ Jewels & Mr Manish Borundia– PMJ Jewels, Director – South said, “We are honoured today by the august presence of Ms. Usha Thulasiram, Dr. Shruti Gowda and Ms. Mitali Sagar. We thank the guests who have blessed up and launched our new flagship store. We will also be hosting a unique bridal exhibition from 24^th March to 30^th March at the store which will be the ‘Largest Bridal Collection’ Bengaluru might have ever witnessed. We invite all the brides, bridesmaids, the relatives and all jewellery lovers who should visit this beautiful display of latest collection at our newly launched store. We strongly believe every visitor who comes to the store will love our latest and exquisite designs and we promise a wonderful experience to cherish.”

The always-happening city of Bangalore will definitely witness an extravagant new range of collections in diamond jewellery. The eye-feasting collections are going to attract working employees to occasional shoppers. The wedding jewellery collection is going to be one of its kind in Bangalore.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar launches Skill hub portal

Bengaluru, 25, March 2023: As part of the efforts to provide industry-ready employable Skills to young Indians in all districts of India, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar today launched the Skill hub portal.  The portal invites all colleges and universities to be a part of Skill India Network.

“Till 2014, there was a backlog of around 30 crore unskilled Indians in the workforce. That means almost 3/4th of every Indian who had a job didn’t have skills or access to skills. Moreover, there were around another 1.9 Cr joining the workforce without skills. Such was the legacy that our Hon. Prime Minister had inherited when he took over,” Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

He said the issue relating to the 1.9 Cr workforce that used to join the workforce without skills has been addressed through National Education Policy. “No Young Indian will be without Skills. NEP gives multiple entry and exit options,” he said, adding that along with the education, they should be encouraged to equip themselves with some industry-specific, future-ready skills.

Regarding the Skilling plans in Karnataka, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in view of the expansion and diversification of the economy, there is going to be demands for skills. “Hence, district-wise skill mapping has been carried out and unique District Skill Development Plans have been prepared by the Government of India for each district of Karnataka,” he stated.

Reaffirming that the Government’s determination is to help15 lakh young Kannadigas get Industry ready, employable, future-ready skills over the next three years, the Minister said, “The future economic growth & prosperity will be driven by energy, capability, and determination of Young Kannadigas. This is the vision of Nava Karnataka.”

Emphasizing on educational institutions to register on the Skills hub portal, the Minister said, “Every college, university, ITI, Jan Sikshan Sansthan, etc. can sign up and become a part of India’s skill network. We would encourage them to compete against each other to become an institute of skill training par excellence and students would naturally choose the best skill training center.”

Retail 4.0 to propel growth amongst small businesses in India

Hyderabad, 25 March 2023: The adoption of Retail 4.0 has the potential to contribute significantly to India’s goal of achieving a US$5 trillion digital economy by 2025, with the retail sector playing a telling role. Acknowledging the power that Retail 4.0 holds to transform the sector and the postive impacts it can accrue for the businesses in the country, especially MSMEs; Amazon India and The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) held a roundtable discussion titled “Retail 4.0: Revolutionizing Retail through Online & Offline Partnership” in Hyderabad in a Hotel in Banjara Hills.

Divided into two pertinent sessions viz. “Conceptualizing Retail 4.0 in a post-pandemic world” and “The Promise of Retail 4.0 for MSMEs”, the discussion brought together policymakers, academia, consumer interest groups and retailers at a single forum.

Key dignitaries such as Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Govt of Telangana; Dr E. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Special Secretary, Government of Telangana; Mr. Kshitij Jain, Director, External Fulfilment, Amazon India; Mr. Udai Singh Mehta, Head, Public Policy (Ecommerce), Amazon India, and Mr. Anil Agarwal, FTCCI President actively participated in the roundtable.

As the Indian consumer is undergoing a gradual yet distinct transformation on several fronts, expectations for convenience, personalized experiences, trend-focused shopping, multi-channel engagement is becoming the norm. Retailers need to continually evolve and adapt to address these challenges. Retail 4.0 technologies, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and the internet of things, can play a central in stimulating cost-efficient innovations to help MSMEs win in this dynamic environment. Hence, digital adoption becomes necessary to stay ahead and harness potential for growth for MSMEs; especially in tier II, tier III cities, and other smaller towns.

“The challenges that small businesses (SMBs) face while selling online are distinct from others. They cannot be solved without adequate support and hand holding from marketplaces like Amazon and industry bodies like the FTCCI. I urge these parties to continue thinking about ways to make selling online easier for SMBs – whether it’s through automation of processes, offering support with compliance and pricing, or providing training on aspects like branding, imaging & cataloguing. I’d also like to congratulate Amazon and FTCCI for seeing through their partnership over the past year, helping train and onboard nearly 500 sellers from Tier II & III cities in Telangana.” Said Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce and Information Technology, Government of Telangana

Dr E. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Special Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Telangana said “Telangana has emerged as a leader in the adoption of technology, with a rapidly increasing consumer base and high rates of internet and mobile penetration. The government has demonstrated strong intent to promote the use of emerging technologies in areas like retail, logistics and supply chain management. We are also working closely with MSMEs, helping upskill them to unlock the purchase potential of the next billion consumers. While policy support is a key driver to enact change, an ecosystem approach that involves working with players like Amazon and industry bodies is necessary to scale the positive outcomes of technology for businesses across the state and the country. .”

Mr. Udai Singh Mehta, Head, Public Policy (Ecommerce), Amazon India said “Through initiatives such as ‘Local Shops on Amazon,’ Amazon has been a significant catalyst for Retail 4.0. This program enables sellers to list their brick-and-mortar stores on Amazon’s marketplace and connect with a larger pool of consumers in their local area. By supplementing their existing foot traffic with a digital presence on Amazon.in, offline retailers and neighborhood stores are availing themselves of the benefits of e-commerce. For customers, the program offers the safety and convenience of online shopping while also preserving the familiarity and trust of their preferred local stores. “While it will be a game changer, Retail 4.0 will need joint effort of sellers, seller associations and the industry, while the government must play role of a facilitator. There is a need for a progressive, facilitative policy, that does not draw an artificial distinction between online and offline commerce. The policy should view Ecommerce as a vehicle for the growth of MSMEs and encourage upskilling of MSMEs in partnership with Ecommerce players. This can help us together achieve India’s goal to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy.”

Mr. Anil Agarwal, President, Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) said, “Retail 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution, bringing together offline and online retail to create customer-centric shopping experiences. With rising demands and varied expectations of Indian consumers, brick and mortar stores today fall short of meeting their needs. Technology can play an essential role in helping these businesses better serve customers, expanding their reach and facilitating direct deliveries through e-commerce. We are pleased to collaborate with players like Amazon who focus on digitization of local stores- helping them capture a larger market share and supporting their growth.”

The roundtable discussion marks the successful completion of Amazon and FTCCI’s initiative to enable the small businesses grow and benefit from ecommerce. As a part of this initiative, approx. 500 small businesses from tier-2 and tier-3 regions were trained on leveraging ecommerce for enhanced revenues and greater reach.

PURE EV Successfully Launches Three New Showrooms in One Day

New Delhi: PURE EV, one of the leading EV2W OEMs in the country, launched three new EV dealership showrooms across India. From Bhilwara in Rajasthan to Silchar in Assam, the company has been expanding its presence across other regions of India very aggressively.

PURE EV has crossed 60,000+ deliveries of EV2W through its wide network of dealerships across the country and abroad. The Company has established a 1,00,000 sq.ft. factory in Telangana comprising vehicle and in house battery manufacturing divisions. The Company is further in the process of expansion to 2,00,000 sqft facility with annual vehicle production capacity of 120,000 units and annual battery production capacity of 0.5 GWh, which will be ready by the end of FY 24. PURE EV has recently launched India’s most affordable electric motorcycle – ecoDryft.

On achieving this milestone, the Chief Executive Officer of PURE EV, Mr. Rohit Vadera said “The value that the PURE as a brand was able to build is slowly coming to fruition now. This is a true testament of our hard work over many years. We as a company are very particular and methodical about the quality of dealers that we on-board and this inturn is being respected by our potential business partners (dealers) who want to associate with brands that maintain the highest levels of professionalism and quality.

We were able to create a robust and a high quality sales and service network in South India and have been successfully replicating this process in our aggressive dealer expansion program across other regions in the country. This is our first showroom in the North East with a few more in the pipeline this month. This momentum will also help us in achieving our target of expanding our presence to 300 cities by the end of 2023”.

PURE EV is already exporting its products to countries in South Asia and further plans to expand into Africa and Middle Eastern markets.

List of 4 platforms that empowers content creators to grow financially

For the past 15 years, the emergence of content creators have been widely reported, but the economy that has accompanied it is seeing unprecedented growth. Almost 50 million people worldwide identify as creators, with the creative economy being valued more than $100 billion; nonetheless, the vast majority are amateurs.

The creator space will see a new format and development in 2023, and user-generated platforms are gaining more traction than they did in the previous year. India is also moving closer to having platforms that provide exclusive, individualised, and targeted content for particular people. To give material that is more personalised than it was previously, content creators have quietly begun experimenting with formats like podcast-style talks, panel discussions, closed group networking, video and audio chats. User-generated platforms are allowing producers to produce original material, connect with smaller audiences who are all looking for similar content, and make money from the comfort of their own homes.

Creators and professionals emerged as a result of the lockdown caused by the pandemic, and as digital adoption increased, so did their popularity. Today, India has almost 80 million substance makers, including video streamers, influencers, bloggers, makers on OTT stages and basically anybody fabricating a local area around their specialty. In point of fact, there are approximately 1.5 lakh professional content creators who earn more than $200 per month, and there are a few breakout stars who earn more than $100,000 per month. The global market for the content creation economy, as estimated by Kalaari Capital, is valued at $104.2 billion.

In addition, by 2026, there will be 650 million active social media users in India, up from 448 million today. These users consume content for an average of 4.6 hours per day.

We have narrowed down the list of 4 platforms that empower the content creator to grow financially

Alike.io:

Alike.io the world’s first content creator-focused Travel Commerce platform that incentivises content creators by sharing revenues of bookings influenced by the creator. Launched in collaboration with Dubai Tourism, Alike.io is the flagship offering of travel tech innovator – kitmytrip. Powered by their e-commerce enabled no-code platform, Alike.io offers the content creators (the Insiders) their own studio to showcase their travel content, boosting the success of a whole new set of travel micro-entrepreneurs – the Travelpreneurs.

Alike.io’s uniqueness is their capability to make the travel content bookable. For this Alike.io has already done tie-ups with experience providers across 200 global destinations, which is being made live on the platform in phases over the coming months. Building on their rapid growth, Alike.io is already collaborating with marquee brands like Zomato, SBI, Dubai Tourism to bring the benefits of their platform to the global traveller.

Plixxo:

With over 26,000 influencers, Plixxo is one of the largest influencer marketing networks in India. It serves both brands and influencers. For access to paid campaigns, bloggers, YouTubers, celebrities, Instagram influencers, and campus influencers can register on the site. Via Plixxo, brands may also ask thousands of influencers to participate in their marketing campaign. Plixxo, in short, makes managing influencer marketing for brands easier. Plixxo is a platform that checks influencers’ profiles, reach, and statistics. This demonstrates that they are legitimate influencers and that Plixxo is a powerful instrument for generating revenue that enables them to participate in sponsored marketing campaigns.

Momspresso:

Momspresso is India’s largest user-generated content platform for women and has been around for a decade. With the assistance of influencers, content creators, and other individuals, the platform is assisting brands in conceptualizing and launching digital campaigns by leveraging traffic on their social media platforms in ten distinct languages.
It is a content platform with multiple languages that caters to the diverse moms of today. It’s a mom-focused platform bubbling with possibilities.With the launch of its micro-influencer platform known as MyMoney, the company is also promoting financial independence for working moms. The send off of this exceptional component underlines Momspresso’s responsibility towards improving the advertising adequacy of brands needing to target mothers. MyMoney uses “everyday moms,” who buy brands, to spread the word to friends, family, and other mothers.

Hubhopper Studio:

The largest platform for podcasting and audio-on-demand in India is Hubhopper. The Hubhopper Studio platform is intended for potential Indian audio content creators. It makes it possible for anyone to free-make, distribute, and host podcasts. Utilizing the platform’s exceptional features, creators can now effortlessly record audio content, have it distributed widely for free through Hubhopper’s distribution network, and finally make money from the content by connecting with the right brands.