Inputs on RBI Monetary Policy Review- Real Estate Industry Experts

Business World

Inputs on RBI Monetary Policy Review- Real Estate Industry Experts

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Affordable Housing Committee, #CREDAI (National), #Gaurs Group and Chairman, #Manoj Gaur, #MD, #RBI Monetary Policy Review Meeting - Real Estate Sector

Manoj Gaur, MD, Gaurs Group and Chairman, Affordable Housing Committee, CREDAI (National)
“Real estate sector needs hand-holding at this point in time. Though unchanged repo rate is understandable the need to have special measures in place cannot be denied. The buyers are coming back to the sector after realizing the importance of real estate asset-backed by historically low EMIs, the developers too need some interventions that can help them expedite the process of development”.

Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com
“As the economy is still to recover to pre-COVID levels and the risk to aggregate demand in the near future remains high, it is important that the transmission of past rate cuts are more effectively passed on to consumers as well as industry. However, It is indeed heartening to hear that the average lending rates have fallen by close to 90 bps since March 2020. Additionally, the liquidity in the banking system seems to be at comfortable levels. Nevertheless, the RBI’s decision to provide additional liquidity to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore to NHB augers well for the stability of HFCs that will provide some growth impetus to the real estate sector in turn.”

Uddhav Poddar, MD, Bhumika Group
“The main issue is that banks have not taken adequate steps to reduce the rates or to ease the liquidity. All the good steps taken by RBI earlier will not bear fruit if the banks don’t take necessary action at their level. Real Estate is badly affected due to the pandemic and we need support from the banks by providing adequate liquidity to the sector and providing cheap home loans to the customers, to make sure the segment can flourish again. We have to understand that real estate is an integral part of economic growth as it is the largest employment generator”.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman – Signature Global Group & Chairman – ASSOCHAM National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development
“It was an expected move by the RBI to keep the repo rate unchanged and it is commendable that it is doing its part to ensure that the economy stays on the right path. However, the banks have not yet passed on the benefits to the consumers, which are not benefitting the real estate sector that in turn is affecting the allied industries too. RBI should take action so that banks should extend loans to the real estate sector. Liquidity crisis has to be tackled soon as the situation after Corona is dismal; this cannot happen until and unless banks take a firm decision to back the sector that has many allied industries attached to it”.

Amit Modi, President (Elect) CREDAI Western UP and Director ABA CORP
Market experts predicted a repo rate cut by 25bps in today’s announcement by RBI, but fortunately, the longing demand from the real estate sector of loan restructuring was declared. With the consumer confidence low due to the ongoing pandemic situation, and real estate sector going through a period of strife, we appreciate the government’ efforts and a keen eye to look into initiatives that will help us in generating more demand in the real estate market as well as helping millions of first-time homebuyers to realize their dream. Loan restructuring will strengthen the real estate outlook for developers in the coming years and pave way for consistent growth.

Ashish Bhutani, MD, Bhutani Group
“RBI Monetary Policy Committee has kept the repo rates unchanged, even when market experts cited the conditions being favourable for it. This decision was taken due to the signs of revival, that the MPC has observed with unlock. However, the continuous surge in cases is constantly hampering the stability that commercial real estate needs for planning the expansion, mapping the already allocated funds, driving international investments, and dispersing some amount of capital to construction and permissions required. We are hoping apex financial institutions assess the realty market closely to deliver, if not repo rate cuts then some other kind of relaxation to improve sentiments of associated stakeholders”.

Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun Group
India is going through one of the biggest economic crises because of the global pandemic situation, and real estate is also facing the pinch like other sectors. A sector that contributes handsomely to the GDP needs handholding and the developers are voicing their concerns in a bid to make the government pay heed to their demands. One of the demands is of loan restructuring will help tackle the liquidity crunch that real estate has been struggling with for quite some time now. Developers are not getting fresh loans or even the top-ups which are hurting the construction activities. Loan restructuring has been done for the MSMEs and we were expecting that the Apex bank would consider it for real estate too. Liquidity is a big concern and a halt in activities during the lockdown affected the cash flow. The government has to consider it in order to ensure the smooth functioning of infrastructural development.

Mohit Goel, CEO, Omaxe Ltd.
With a sharp reduction in policy rates announced since March, a pause was always on the cards. But we expected the apex bank to announce some measures like the restructuring of loans, which could have reduced the stress on the sector and given a boost to demand. However, the decision to constitute an Expert Committee under imminent banker KV Kamath to recommend financial parameters, along with the sector-specific benchmark for resolution plans is a welcome step. The infusion of Rs 5000 crore in NHB is also a step in the right direction to boost liquidity.

Vikas Bhasin, CMD, Saya Homes
The government and apex bank are making efforts like never before to overcome the damage done to the economy due to Covid-19. Repo rates are already at historic low and are benefitting the buyers. However, real estate is passing through a challenging phase and we would request the apex bank to consider one-time loan restructuring that has been a long-standing demand is warranted at the earliest.

Harvinder Singh Sikka, MD, Sikka Group
Real estate has been going through a challenging phase. Last financial year too, the situation was not good for the first 9 months and it got worse with the onslaught of a global pandemic. It has become difficult for many developers to manage cash flow to meet the requirements of construction, salaries, vendor payment, and then at the same time they have the loan obligations. The overall sentiment needs a boost and with one-time loan restructuring, the confidence of the buyer will be back.

Raman Gupta, Director- Branding & Construction- GBP Group
In today’s announcement, the apex bank has kept the repo rate unchanged to 4% which was an expected move to keep the economy of the country afloat amidst the pandemic. Being one of the major contributors to the economy of the country, the benefits provided to the sector will have a positive impact on the overall growth of the nation. With the schemes like CLSS & PMAY along with the low repo rates, the customers are moving back towards the real estate sector. Along with providing one-time loan restructuring to MSMEs, we expect the apex bank to announce the same for real estate sector as well.

Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd.
We understand the status quo on repo rates but not a single word was said about one-time loan restructuring for the real estate sector. Such demand or need for restructuring is not happening for the first time. In 2008, RBI asked banks to restructure and around Rs, 40,000 crore of debt was restructured across all sectors, which included real estate too. It proved beneficial for real estate as the infusion of funds helped the developers in completing the projects at hand and win the confidence of the buyers leading to the revival of the sector. Real estate needs last-mile funding and outstanding loans are acting as roadblocks; one-time loan restructuring will make the banks consider the credit requirements of developers, which in turn will help the developers in completing the stalled/delayed projects. The situation in 2008 arose because of the Lehman Brothers crisis and at that time loan restructuring helped revive the sector which saw a capital appreciation in properties in 2010 after a lull period of around two years. At present we have a similar situation at hand and thus the sector needs help from the government.

Business World

Non-ISI helmet ban: Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association applauds Govt.’s move

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Bureau of Indian Standard’s (ISI) safety standards, #MD, #Mr. Rajeev Kapur, #Steelbird Helmets & President

Mr. Rajeev Kapur, MD, Steelbird Helmets & President, Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association, welcomes the latest notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways according to which helmet manufacturers will no longer be able to manufacture, stock and sell helmets that do not comply with Bureau of Indian Standard’s (ISI) safety standards.

Commenting on the Government’s decision in the public interest to enforce the regulations of the Bureau of Indian Standards, Mr. Rajeev Kapur said, “I applaud the decision taken by the Government in ensuring that manufacturers do not make sub-standard helmets and subsequently riders don’t use them. As per WHO statistics, about 3,00,000 people died in 2016 in road accidents in India and about 40% of these accounted for two-wheeler riders without helmets. Similar data by MORTH shows that in 2018 about 43,614 people died in India in road accidents who were not wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler. The implementation of mandatory ISI marked headgear is a major step for the safety of two-wheeler riders and will go a long way in reducing the huge number of two-wheeler accidents across the country. We are going to save millions of lives. The huge number of riders are dying on the road for not wearing a helmet or wearing a non- ISI marked helmet. At the time of the accident, if the rider is wearing a sub-standard helmet, it can crash and enter the head causing brain haemorrhage that could prove to be fatal. After the Government’s notification, each and every rider will be compelled to use an ISI marked helmet. No one will be permitted to manufacture, stock, sell and import helmets that do not have an ISI mark if they do so it will be considered a criminal offence.”

The new norms for lighter helmets and ventilation have been rightly enforced by the government given the reasons motorcycle riders maintain for barring the helmets. Lighter helmets are further suitable for the Indian conditions. The members of Two-Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association are already making lighter helmets starting from about 700gm. “If there are any companies that make heavier helmets, the new norms will help compel them to improvise and add value to their product. Maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety of helmets is a priority for us at Steelbird, and that further makes us applaud the Government’s decision in the direction of banning the non-ISI helmets,” he added.

Welcoming the Government’s move, Mr. Kapur added, “This initiative is going to be highly beneficial to the people of this country. All imported helmets that are flooding the Indian market cannot be verified for their quality standards. We do not know whether they are genuine or fake. It is difficult to determine whether the imported helmets coming from other countries are following all the quality standards. After this notification, the Government can get control over the quality of helmets that we import in the country. The consumers will have the privilege to use the right ISI marked product that has passed all the crucial quality tests and standards of the country.”

Business World

Mahak Group Launches Campaign for Mint ChocOn Featuring Janhvi Kapoor

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #‘Mint Nahi Hint Hai’, #CEO & MD, #Janhvi Kapoor, #Mahak Group, #Mahak Mint ChocOn, #Mr S K Jain

Mahak Group has launched a new campaign-‘Mint Nahi Hint Hai’, for its trademark candy Mint Choc On. Mahak Mint ChocOn is a one-of-its-kind candy with mint favoured outer shell and delectable, chocolate filled centre. The TVC star actress Janhvi Kapoor and sets beautifully encapsulates the emotions of a young couple on their first date.

The film opens to a beautiful late evening setting, where Janhvi and a boy are sitting by a hilltop ledge. The couple is out on their first romantic date. Since it’s their first date ever, they’re both a little clueless about exactly what to do on a first date. Trying to break the awkward silence, Janhvi asks, “So, aur kya Karte hain first date pe?” to which the guy replies, “Pata nahi….mera bhi toh first time hai.” Janhvi then passes on a Mahak Mint ChocOn candy to the guy and he replies, surprised, “Mint?” Janhvi shyly replies, “Ye Mint Nahi Hint Hai.” Taking her subtle hint, the boy then consumes Mint ChocOn and leans in towards Janhvi.

Mr S K Jain, CEO & MD, Mahak Group said: “Today it is of utmost importance to all brands to keep coming up with innovative offerings in order to create a recall and a strong customer base in the market. We launched Mint ChocOn keeping just that in mind. Mahak Mint ChocOn is a novel concept, with just a hint of playfulness and whimsy. Our campaign is aligned to the core essence of Mahak Mint ChocOn. We employ German technology in manufacturing the product. From a teenager to a young working professional, Mint ChocOn is an offering, which will appeal to everyone. We feel that someone as vivacious and full of energy as Janhvi fits the bill perfectly and is an ideal choice for a brand ambassador. We are ecstatic to have her on board as the face of the brand.”

On associating with Mint ChocOn Janhvi Kapoor said: “I have always had a bit of a sweet tooth, in fact, I can have sweets any times of the day! Whenever my parents were happy with Khushi and me, they would spoil us with candies and chocolates. Which is why I am happy to associate with Mint ChocOn. It is such an innovative concept. I am sure Mint ChocOn is soon going to be a crowd favourite.”

Business World

ATUL GARG – A MAN WHO CHANGED THE FACE OF PAPER INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Director of Oddy and founder of Uniwraps, #founder of Uniwraps., #Mr. Atul Garg, #oddy

Successful people have a few traits in common – they’re willing to work harder than anyone else, they take a risk on an idea they believe in, they follow their gut even if everyone else is telling them they’ll never be able to make it. And, of course, they all start from very humble backgrounds. Introducing a pioneer in the stationery brand, Mr. Atul Garg, Director of Oddy and founder of Uniwraps.

Though he belonged to middle-class family background and had no major savings when he decided to support his father in his work. He left his higher studies and started supporting his father at his shop selling stationery items. But his desire to do something great and big in life decided to launch his own brand for office stationery called “Oddy” which was coined by his father that means “On-demand.”

Though the journey was not so easy, he started manufacturing stationery from a small set of secondhand machines. Fast-forward to 2001, he had a dedicated building for sales, packaging, dispatch and billing and two years later, he bought the first factory for Oddy at Okhla Phase 2, New Delhi. There has been no looking back since then. He made several trips to Germany, France, Korea and China and kept adding pre-branded stationery to the existing basket and expanded his distribution network across the country.

The idea was to start developing the stationery product line for masses by learning from other countries and then implementing at home. Also, he built very good relations with prominent paper suppliers in Europe and learnt about types of paper, paper properties and processes of papermaking.

His passion for learning & research led to the launch of another innovative product in the Indian market, which he experienced at a family picnic when the mango pickle, which they carried in aluminium foil, leaked and spoiled the rest of the food.

He did a quick research on google about aluminium foil and found that it reacts with food and can harm the human body. That moment only he decided to launch the safe food packaging paper for the market.

He travelled a lot abroad to do extensive research and was looking for the solution to pickle puzzle, which he finally got in France. The solution meant that he had to purchase 75% paper from them and the rest 25% had to be processed in India. This involved a huge potential risk, but he took a leap of faith and placed a huge order for the special paper that they offered. After several failed attempts and six months to get the right combination, the team came up with India’s First Food Wrapping paper Uniwraps that is safe and secure for human bodies. One must look into every single detail and create a product that addresses all the problems of the end-user. They went ahead and printed one side to make it look attractive and to help the user identify the side that must come in contact with the food. So, they also tailor-made a blade for cutting the paper. Today, there is a wide range of Food wrapping papers and baking papers for food products.

Accepted by the Indian market, Today Uniwraps is one of the leading and pioneer companies in the food packaging paper industry. Atul’s success mantra of learning, passion, research & producing innovative products makes him a Real paper man from India.

Business World

FusionVR empowers mission-critical functions with Digital Twins

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Augmented Reality -, #Big Data and Analytics -, #Dr. C. SS Bharathy, #FusionVR, #Industrial Revolution, #Simulation -

New Delhi, 6th August 2020:FusionVR, India’s leading Industry 4.0 solutions provider strengthens its commitment to help the industry achieve excellence consistently and effectively through the disruptive Industry 4.0 technologies. Amongst the many industries, security and military functions demonstrate the impending need to integrate Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality /Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence solutions.

A recent PWC study says that VR training is four times faster and four times more focused than typical Class-Room Training. It’s also 3.75 times more emotionally connected with a 40% improvement in operator confidence. VR-Training transforms defence personnel into competent, confident resources inheriting decades of knowledge and experience in a short duration, saving years of training time.

The company aims to bring the Fourth Industrial Revolution to impart remote training and manage remote monitoring functions at diverse high-priority and sensitive industries.

Fusion VR aims to devote its efforts to create a truly collaborative environment where simulations, systems, and models coupled with data analytics and AI adds value to the existing systems. Here are some Industry 4.0 technologies that can make proactive changes in the mission-critical industries:

Simulation –

Fusion VR’s immersive VR simulation can become a viable method to test new equipment, check designs, and make an overall assessment before making it production-ready. A thorough and fool-proof evaluation can save a considerable amount of production costs and time. Furthermore, VR simulations can better educate, and train staff and resources deployed at critical projects and missions with safety and security.

Augmented Reality –

Augmented Reality solutions can empower military personnel with overlay display within his field of vision. The technology also improves communication by facilitating remote assistance, improving real-time analysis, and information display to reduce risks. AR is also being applied for maintenance purposes of sophisticated military purpose types of machinery.

Big Data and Analytics –

Information is critical in any business, but in defence, the stakes are higher. In an intelligent defence ecosystem, scores of raw data generated from multiple sources get churned for the decision-making process.

The churned data get processed for the following purposes –

● Reducing human dependency and empowering AI in mission-critical functions

● Real-time monitoring

● Conducting descriptive and predictive analytics

Presenting his views on the subject, Dr. C. SS Bharathy, Founder Fusion VR, said, “The potential of Industry 4.0 technologies in the security and service sector is immense, considering its vast applications and effectiveness in churning results. In the not-too-distant reality, the adoption and application of these technologies get witnessed on a global scale. FusionVR is relentlessly working on to make the shift seamless in India”.

Our solutions are a way forward for the security and military services to embrace change and optimise operations with a truly virtual framework,” he added.

Business World

Get Ready- iFFALCON Launches Latest QLED & UHD Models Exclusively On Flipkart

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #“Hey Google”, #General Manager TCL India, #iFFALCON Launches Latest QLED & UHD Models, #Mike Chen, #or “Ok Google”, #QLED & UHD Models Exclusively On Flipkart

New Delhi, August 6, 2020:The wait is finally over. iFFALCON, TCL’s sub-brand has rolled out its latest QLED& UHD TVs. The models H71 and K71 are available exclusively on Flipkart, starting at an appealing price of INR 49,999 and INR 25,499, respectively. Additionally, the first 250 customers will give 1 year Sony Liv subscription for free, along with some special banking offer from Flipkart.

Some of the common features that both models come equipped with include hands-free voice control. With far-field voice control, users can control TV, set reminders, and much more totally hands-free – Just say “Hey Google”, or “Ok Google”.

Another common feature is micro dimming, which is designed to dim particular parts of the screen while leaving the rest in a brighter tone for an enhanced and optimized LED viewing. Both the devices come with Android P, the second latest version of the Android operating system (OS). However, it is not any major disadvantage as users still get access to a large pool of 5000+ entertainment solutions from the Google Play Store.

Mike Chen, General Manager TCL India commented, “At iFFALCON, we strive to manufacture TVs that offer the latest technology solutions to enrich users’ viewing experience and take their entertainment levels one notch higher. While creating these TV models, we also focus on the affordability factor without compromising on the quality aspect. All our TVs, therefore, come at prices that don’t affect consumers’ budgets and in fact, offers them more at lesser price points. Both our latest offerings are in sync with this philosophy. We will continue to follow this approach going forward and introduce more innovative products to our customers at affordable price points.”

H71- 4K QLED with Hands-free AI

Apart from a metallic body, this model also comes with a bezel-less design, for a truly immersive full-screen viewing experience. The quantum dot technology and Dolby Vision bring unmatched colour, contrast and brightness to the screen, making the display quality much richer than traditional models. HDR 10+ is another technology that this model offers, to optimize the picture quality and make the content look more authentic than usual by using dynamic tone-mapping to realize scene-by-scene picture adjustment.

It also has an IPQ engine that ensures extraordinary viewing clarity using artificial intelligence. While all these features deliver a superior viewing experience, Moreover, it has Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD that ensure true zero-compressed audio quality and delivers rich sound quality to viewers.

Available in two variants – 55’’ and 65’’ inches priced at INR 49,999 and INR 69,999, respectively.

K71-4K UHD with Hands-free AI

With a metallic body and slim design, the device looks premium than traditional LED TVs and can be beautifully integrated with room décor, making it a perfect wall showpiece, no matter whether turned off or on. It offers 4K upscaling, which upscales the picture and video quality in terms of colour, clarity, detail and frequency, even if the file is of low quality. When playing video and natural pictures, dynamic Color Enhancement can make the display screen with low gamut show the display effect close to the high gamut screen

With the AI x IoT feature, users can connect any Google Home enabled Smart device – be it air conditioner, room lights, or fans with the TV and control all of them through it, making the TV a control centre for all other devices at home. It has Dolby Audio that delivers immersive 5.1 surround sound with the optimized sound quality of any content. Available in three variants – 43’’, 55’’ and 65’’ inches priced at INR 25,499; INR 35,999; and INR 53,499, respectively.

Business World

COVID Era: ‘Shuddhi Ayurveda’ launches immunity-boosting combo ‘Shuddhi Herbal Immunity Pack’

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #‘Shuddhi Herbal Immunity Package’, #Acharya Manish, #COVID-19

Founded by award-winning Ayurveda expert & motivational speaker  – Acharya Manish, ‘Shuddhi Ayurveda’ an Ayurvedic Clinic & Research Centre, which has its head office at Zirakpur near Chandigarh is now one of India’s biggest Ayurvedic medicines’ maker and distributor, with 110 + clinics in India.

To fight against COVID 19 an intense research conducted by Ayurvedic doctors under the guidance of Acharya Manish was done and an immunity-boosting pack – ‘Shuddhi Herbal Immunity Package’ certified by AYUSH was launched. Acharya Manish is trying to promote the age-old Ayurveda, which is a 5000 – years – old Vedic science. As many as 500 people have benefitted by using this pack made by ‘Shuddhi Ayurveda’.

Acharya Manish said, “In the combo, we have included three medicines, Vish Har Ras, thirty-two (32) herbs tea and Ayush Kwath. Vish Har Ras has major ingredients like Neem & Giloy, which have high antiviral properties. The tea contains 32 medicinal herbs like elaichi, dalchini which have antioxidant properties and Ayush Kwath contains tulsi, pepper and shunthi which help in increasing immunity.”

People who benefitted were not only spread across Delhi NCR but even states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal, West Bengal & many other states. Beneficiaries included those with COVID like symptoms, those who wanted to protect themselves from the disease and Corona positive patients in-home quarantine. As many as 100 COVID positive patients, in-home quarantine turned negative in a period of 3 to 7 days of using the medicines, thus proving the efficacy of the immunity booster medicines even among COVID patients. 

It is pertinent to state  that many elated patients’ who turned negative after taking the medication sent back videos of their experience and also advocated adopting Ayurveda for a healthy lifestyle. 

When Corona entered India, Acharya Manish had told the central government that with the help of Ayurveda, the disease can be prevented. PM Modi himself also announced that with the help of Ayurveda one can increase immunity to prevent the virus infection.

Added Acharya Manish, “The sad part is that even in the land where Ayurveda was born –India, the science has always been given lesser importance than Allopathy. But now due to benefits, people are witnessing from Ayurveda in countering COVID 19, Ayurveda is again getting recognition and it is a matter of time before Ayurveda becomes a preferred treatment protocol in India.” Opined Acharya Manish.

Ignited by the idea of promoting Ayurveda as a way of life and to make the saying ‘Vocal for Local’ a reality in India’s healthcare sector, Acharya Manish has chalked out an ambitious expansion plan for ‘Shuddhi Ayurveda’. Under this, over 200 centres in addition to the existing 110 + clinics of ‘Shuddhi Ayurveda’ will be set up by this year-end.

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Special Ode to Handloom by Asha Gautam

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #“Special Ode to Handloom”, #ASHA GAUTAM, #Designer Gautam Gupta of the label, #starting from an exhibition today and will finally be culminated on the National Handloom Day on 7th August 2020, #store in Defence Colony

In order to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight India’s handloom industry Designer Gautam Gupta of the label, ASHA GAUTAM has come up with a campaign “Special Ode to Handloom” wherein a series of activities will take place, starting from an exhibition today and will finally be culminated on the National Handloom Day on 7th August 2020 at his store in Defence Colony.

Designer Gautam Gupta said “In our journey of 22 years we have worked mostly on handloom fabrics, we have expanded our portfolio by working with more clusters and weavers. We always believed in our crafts and the incredible talent our weavers possess. Handloom day is a very important day for us in the country as it gives tribute to 3.5 millions of people working in our country, second highest after agriculture.

The designs made in handlooms are still unparalleled and even with the latest technology, there are vintage techniques which weavers use in handlooms that power looms or machine-based mills can’t even think of. This is our pride and luxury as well for the world. The handloom industry not only is relevant in terms of designs but also to the world environment and with the consciousness of buying judiciously. I personally feel that what has happened in the past three months will make consumers more aware of the relevance of preserving crafts and especially our handloom industry.’’ Adds Gautam Gupta

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Datacultr strengthens its ML platform to help financial institutions gear up for loan collection exercise

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #‘New-to credit-Customers’, #CEO and Co-founder, #Datacultr, #Neel Juriasingani, #NPAs

New Delhi, 06 August 2020: Datacultr, a one-of-its-kind platform that allows consumer lending companies to reduce risk on ‘New-to credit-Customers’ has enhanced and strengthened its technology on its key solutions – predictive fraud management and collection digitization. The new features include dynamic behavioural templates, that are built to help financial institutions effectively manage customer life-cycles, that bring in greater efficiencies to their loan collection processes, especially in the current environment.

COVID-19 has led to a huge disruption in economic activity and rendered many people jobless. In this scenario, financial institutions have a new challenge, i.e, collection/recovery of the loan amount. Identifying this challenge well in time, Datacultr has strengthened its AI and ML capabilities to help financial institutions make smarter decisions and increase collection efficiency.

Commenting on the same, Neel Juriasingani, CEO and Co-founder, Datacultr said- “The past few months have been challenging for the world. As the new normal calls for contact-less customer engagement, lenders are rethinking their operations and processes. Several traditional lending companies including banks are looking to ramp up their collection processes and are becoming more receptive to technology. We have seen heightened interest for our platform from lenders extending all sorts of loans. We are jointly exploring how they can integrate and use our platform in a bid to avoid bad-loan build up in current times.”

“In the past, we have helped financial institutions to reduce the costs involved in the collection process while also reducing their NPAs”, he further added.

For its unique capabilities and ability to affect bottom-line results, Datacultr has been trusted by some of India’s largest consumer lending companies to optimise and standardise their debt collection activities. The company is playing a vital role in enhancing Lender’s Collections processes, including data-driven customer journeys that ensure effective experiences are built on the basis of customer segments, attitudes, Credit Scores, financial literacy or payments history.

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Birlasoft Q1 Revenue; up 18% YoY EBITDA, up 46% YoY, Signs TCV of $ 180 M in Q1

Aug 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Birlasoft, #Birlasoft Q1 Revenue; up 18%, #Dharmender Kapoor, #Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Birlasoft [BSE: 532400, NSE: BSOFT], a part of the USD 2.4 billion diversified CK Birla Group, reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Dharmender Kapoor, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Birlasoft, said, “Our Q1 results were better than what we had expected at the beginning of this pandemic quarter. Our healthy deal wins of $ 179.7 M and good pipeline across verticals and horizontals, coupled with strong cash collections are a testimony to the trust shown in us. With the key objectives of ensuring our employee’s safety and partnering with our customers to stabilize their business and get them up to speed, we were quick in launching a few Digitalized Covid-19 solutions, like intelliOpenTM for employee health and safety, and Supplier Risk Radar, an Analytics solution to predict financial health of suppliers, to address our customer needs. Our focus will remain to work closely with our customers and partners and aid them in their initiatives to accelerate their success in the post-pandemic world.”

In INR:

Revenue at Rs. 915 Crore(cr)uo0.8%QoQ &17.7%YoY

EBITDA at Rs. 113 Cr down 3.3%QoQ &up46.3% YoY

PAT at 56cr down 18.4% QoQ &up 38.4% YoY

In USD

Revenue at $121.2M down 3.4% QoQ& up 8.5% YoY

EBITDA at $15.0M, down 7.4% QoQ &up 34.9% YoY

EBITDA margin at 12.3% up 240 bps YoY

PAT at $ 7.5M, down 21.9% QoQ and up 24.3% YoY

Key Financial Highlights for Q1 FY21

Other Highlights

  • Signed TCV deals of $ 179.7 M during the quarter
  • Active Client Count at 356
    • $ 10 M customer at 8; up by 1 during Q1
  • Cash & Equivalents up from US$ 88.4 M in Q4 to US$ 108.8 M (INR 822 Cr); up US$ 20.4 M
  • DSO at 60 days, down by 12 days QoQ
  • Manpower strength of 9,908 as at 30th June 2020 versus 10,268 in Q4
  • Attrition down from 21.7% in Q1 FY20 to 16.5% in Q1 FY21; down 520 bps YoY

Deal Wins for the Quarter

  • Selected by a global building material & solutions major to provide remote Infrastructure and Global Datacenter Managed Services.
  • Chosen as a sole offshore vendor, by one of the leading third-party providers and retailers of wireless products for application management and development work around ERP technologies, Magento and for building a Testing Center of Excellence (CoE)
  • Selected as a partner by a leading US Telecom Major for providing Business Analysis & Testing Services as part of a multi-year deal. This has come on top of an earlier engagement to integrate the pre-paid and post-paid platforms.
  • Chosen by a European Insurance major for transforming its global Human Resources solutions stack through the implementation of SAP SuccessFactors.
  • Selected by a leading US Telecom Major for accuracy testing of its Application data
  • Awarded by a leading Energy Storage Major for its Application Managed Services and support of J D Edwards applications.
  • Selected by a US Lifesciences major for migration of its data lake and Analytics applications to SAP
  • Selected by an Asian Cement major to provide remote Infrastructure and helpdesk support.
  • Birlasoft has been chosen by a leading US Media and Entertainment company in enhancing its customer experience through the implementation of Salesforce.com

Awards and Recognition

  • Birlasoft was named a Top 15 Sourcing Standout by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm. It was among the leading providers in the Booming 15 category for the Americas region based on annual contract value (ACV) won over the last 12 months, according to the 1Q 2020 Global ISG Index™.
  • Birlasoft Partners with Innoveo, a leading global technology company, strengthening Birlasoft’s domain and digital capabilities to rapidly deliver world-class solutions with Innoveo’s enterprise-level no-code platform.

Covid-19 Solutions – Building Resilience for the Long Haul

COVID has caused businesses to realize the need to accelerate digital transformation. Building resilience and agility through digital-led innovations is critical to their survival in the short and long term. Birlasoft too accelerated our development of digital solutions for our customers.

intelliOpenTM  

Facility managers need to help protect employees and visitors from the spread of COVID-19. intelliOpenTM integrates four important components of protection: Self-screening, Thermal Screening, Social Distance Compliance and Contact Tracing, while adhering to regulatory compliance, data privacy and confidentiality requirements.

Supplier Risk Radar

Sourcing and procurement leaders struggle to effectively track their suppliers’ sustainability in the uncertain times of COVID-19. They need to minimize supplier risk exposure and build disruption-free supply chains with this AI-powered preventive risk mitigation solution.

Blockchain – Four New Solutions

  1. Warranty Management: From false claims and fake product to misunderstandings about coverages, there are many challenges in warranty management. By bridging the information gap between manufacturers, warranty providers, other participants in the supply chain and the consumers, blockchain helps streamline the warranty lifecycle.
  2. Supply Chain Visibility and Resiliency: Companies are struggling to get supply chain visibility. Our Blockchain solution improves the ability to make decisions on inventory, production scheduling, product availability.
  3. Container Tracking: End-to-end container and shipment tracking provide an accurate view of the complete journey of the shipment right from the manufacturing plant to end destination.
  4. Counterfeit Drug Detection and Supply Chain Traceability: Our multi-stage counterfeiting validation solution, with end-to-end tracing and tracking of medicines or medical equipment on Blockchain, empower drug manufacturers, distributors, retailers and patients to validate the authenticity of drug or medical device.

Intelligent Automation Solution

Birlasoft’s Smart Automation Solution Kit offers a range of Automation Bots including Supply Chain/Order Management, Master Data Management, Financial Processing, HR & Payroll Processing, IT Health Check, and IT Service Desk & Reporting.

New Digital Experience & Co-innovation Centers  

Birlasoft’s Digital Labs (Pune, Noida and Raleigh) are state-of-the-art co-innovation centres where customers can see, touch, and feel digital innovation. Two examples of co-innovation are 1) New ideas for Warehouse Safety, 2) IoT Asset Health Monitoring for machinery buried deep in the ground. Customers can work with us in a no-risk environment to solve their most pressing business problems.