Tag: Co-founder & CEO

Business, News

Qoruz launches an exclusive program Qoruz for agencies

Jul 2, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Co-founder & CEO, #Co-founder & CTO, #Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, #Prabakaran

Bengaluru – Qoruz, India’s leading Influencer Search Engine, has launched an exclusive program “Qoruz for agencies” for the marketing agencies. With this, Qoruz aims to equip the agencies with data and automation-led tools and resources and help them set up centralized influencer marketing operations, at no cost. Agency professionals who are registered with the program can get full access to 2,74,711 Influencers in the ever-growing base of influencers, and also enlist and onboard their team. Added to that, whitelisted agency teams get early access to Direct Influencer Reachout & further features that are deployed exclusively.

To activate influencer marketing campaigns quicker, without having to scrum through Google or social media, Qoruz had earlier launched “Qoruz Search”. Qoruz Search enabled marketers quick access to influencers, throwing larger results that were beyond regularly used influencers across different niches and categories.

Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, Co-Founder & CEO, said “As a part of our ongoing efforts to build a seamless platform for marketers, we have launched this program. We aim to empower agencies across Social, Digital and PR specializations, to communicate and engage with influencers independent of third-party vendors and thus unlock more value with tighter engagements.”

With this streamlined program, agency personnel who are getting white-listed access will realize an improved overall experience such as:

Full Access to over 2,74,711 Indian influencers from 100 categories and million topics

Connect and reach-out to influencers directly

Collaborate and work with their teams to co-create Influencer plans and campaigns

Get access to 100+ curated influencer lists across genres including finance, parenting etc.

“For agencies working with multiple clients across different industries, a one-size-fits-all approach may not work for client’s influencer campaigns. Finding the right influencers seems to still be a daunting task for professionals! Our goal is to build the software ecosystem that forms the base of all campaign planning and influencer engagements, by enabling quicker connections. Over time, the features built around the Qoruz Agency Access, will enable teams to operate and plan campaigns, without having the need to pick up the phone, and dial a vendor or maybe even an influencer!”, commented Prabakaran, Co-Founder & CTO.

To avoid influencer data breach, Qoruz team verifies the agency and white-lists the teams to get the “Agency Access” to the entire team. The team promises to get an agency verified in less than 5 mins and unlock the full potential of the Qoruz platform.

Business World, News

DigiSparsh raises seed funding from Silicon Valley based fund GoAhead Ventures

Jun 23, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Akhilesh Gandhi, #Co-founder & CEO, #DigiSprash, #GoAhead Ventures, #Phil Brady Managing Partner, #Saurabh Soni

Mumbai: DigiSparsh, an Indian fintech focused on healthcarelending, today announced securing a seed round from Silicon Valley based investor GoAhead Ventures.

Co-Founded by Saurabh Soni and Akhilesh Gandhi in May 2020,DigiSparshoffers lending solutionsincluding insurance receivable financing, supplier financing and patient financing to the entire value chain of the healthcare ecosystem.The distribution strategy of tying up with healthcare aggregators to source the end customers makes them very unique in healthcare lending. They have already tied up with 7 aggregators, onboarded 14 hospitals, have funded loans to patients, pharmacies and healthcare merchants in more than 50 locations across the country.

Commenting on the seed round, Saurabh Soni, Co-founder & CEO, DigiSparsh, said, “With this funding, we plan to strengthen our team and also widen our reach – targeting to tie up with 50 aggregators, on-board 100 hospitals by the end of this year and 500 hospitals by the end of the next year. We will be razor-focused in covering the length and breadth of healthcare ecosystem which has a huge potential and the current pandemic situation has further increased the size of the unmet demand for lending products which we need to cater to.”

Defining the company’s edge, Akhilesh Gandhi, Co-founder & CTO, DigiSprash, added, “We have built products that are tailor-made for the health care sector where hospitals, supplier or patients can use them to apply for lending products and these are easily integrable with hospitals’ core systems or with our aggregator’s platform. This platform is built on micro services& blockchain to easily on-board borrowers at the front end & lending partners at the back end.”

Prior to embarking on their entrepreneurial journey, Saurabh has worked with groups like GE, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular and was also the CEO of Essel Finance Digital Business; while Akhilesh has worked with companies like Tech Mahindra, Sandisk and Federal Bank of San Francisco.

Commenting on the investment, Phil Brady Managing Partner, GoAhead Ventures, said “The DigiSparsh approach to healthcare financing really impressed us here at GoAhead. The founders of the company come with a strong pedigree and a proven track record of scaling businesses. We are very excited to be a part of this journey and cater to the 135 Bn USD healthcare market in India through highly innovative products which DigiSparsh offers for the entire value chain of the healthcare ecosystem.”

GoAhead Ventures is a Silicon Valley based venture capital firm founded by three Stanford alumni with over $100M in AUM. GoAhead focuses on investments into early-stage technology companies around the globe, deploying roughly half of its capital outside of the US into geographies including India, Singapore, Israel and more.

Health, News

Amidst the second wave, MediBuddy helps additional 76% Indians access high-quality healthcare

May 28, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Co-founder & CEO, #Dr. Gowri Kulkarni, #Head of Medical Operations, #MediBuddy, #Mr. Satish Kannan

National: It has been over a year since COVID-19 proved to be a threat to mankind. It has been mercilessly challenging our healthcare system; doctors and frontline workers. The healthcare infrastructure in our country moved from strength to strength and adapted to the challenges thrown its way. MediBuddy, India’s largest digital healthcare platform has been a catalyst in this paradigm shift in recent times.

As a trusted healthcare partner, MediBuddy witnesses a growth of 76% since February 2021 when second wave started touching its peak.Insights and data from the healthcare platform revealed they received maximum queries around 5 departments – COVID-19 Related Care(104%), Mental Health(82%), Women’s Health(73%), Pediatrics(56%)and Orthopaedics(52%).

The data suggests that most queries received by the platform in the past few months have revolved around COVID-19 symptoms. Amid the second wave, India witnessed record-high cases and an increase in positivity rate. Users were more aware, cautious, and sought medical assistance for common COVID-19 symptoms such as cold, fever, cough, breathlessness, etc. As a precautionary measure to monitor their health and to get additional help if required.

The pandemic coupled with the lockdown has also been an extremely challenging time for a lot of individuals across the country and has taken a major toll on one’s mental health. In these uncertain times, with work stress, relationship issues, loneliness, anxiety, and other stressors, people increasingly sought out medical assistance to keep their mental wellbeing in check.

The platform also observed a steep increase in queries related to intimate and women’s health. The sedentary lifestyles in addition to stress and other issues have resulted in rise of ailments in young women. Users consulted medical practitioners on the platform for various health issues pertaining to PCOS, vaginal yeast infection, birth control methods, etc.

Additionally, the platform witnessed increase in queries from parents with regards to cough and cold in babies, missed vaccination cycles, fever, UTI, diarrhea, etc. Telemedicine has helped assure parents that, there is in fact a pediatrician available for them 24*7 or whenever they need help with anything bothering their little ones.

Furthermore, the platform also received orthopaedic-related queries such as joint pain, spinal issues, knee pain, muscle pain and back pain which is increasingly becoming a common issue across all age groups and gender. With extended lockdowns and lifestyle measures that have largely bound people to their desks and has restricted physical activity have resulted in the rise of medical assistance for orthopaedic ailments.

Talking about the same, Mr. Satish Kannan, Co-founder & CEO, MediBuddy said, “The last few months have been challenging for our healthcare system. Individuals across the country are turning to teleconsultations first-hand for across all departments to take care of themselves and their loved ones. As their trusted buddy, we are extremely humbled that our platform has been a continued source of trusted medical consultations for people in these testing times. We pledge to continue support our users and honour our commitment to provide Indians access to high-quality healthcare.”

Dr. Gowri Kulkarni, Head of Medical Operations, MediBuddy, further said, “In challenging times like these, telemedicine has been a strong source of support for patients and healthcare workers. While frontline doctors continue to dedicatedly service patients suffering from COVID-19, telemedicine has helped support people seeking medical consultations across all departments. Through MediBuddy, doctors are closer and more accessible to help more individuals access high-quality healthcare across the country.”

To lend their full support to state governments administering vaccination drives; MediBuddy, India’s largest digital healthcare platform has tied up with 350+ top hospitals across 130 cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Noida, and Kochi to further strengthen the vaccine rollout across the country. MediBuddy will be facilitating vaccinations for over 700 corporates that support 15 million individuals at vaccination camps.

Amid the second wave, MediBuddy launched several initiatives such as Hospital Bed Availability Tracker, a 24×7 helpline number and a Coronavirus Risk Assessment Tool to help tackle the surge of coronavirus infection and contribute its bit in combating the virus.

Business World, News, Technology

Brick&Bolt introduces ‘Contactless Construction’ to deliver dream homes during pandemic

May 22, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Brick&Bolt, #Co-founder & CEO, #Jayesh Rajpurohit

Bengaluru: Brick&Bolt, India’s number one tech enabled construction company has introduced ‘contactless construction’ for its customers. The idea behind the launch is to provide customers with a safer, convenient and virtual alternative to build their dream homes. The announcement comes in the light of the current Covid situation where safety and social distancing is a key priority for customers. With the launch, Brick&Bolt has created a technology solution that maintains a high level ofconstruction productivity even during these challenging times.
The most pressing issue for home builders right now is the fear and uncertainty regarding both Covid and the current state of construction activity. The pandemic has complicated both short-term and long-term plans for many, as people are now worried about the challenges that will accompany house construction. By introducing ‘Contactless Construction’, Brick&Bolt has not only ensured customers’ safety through social distancing but has also allowed them to track the progress of their homes through its tech platform.

With contactless construction, customers can work with contractors and project managers over the phone or video conferencing. Documents can also be signed electronically. Customers can also approve plans, track real time progress and monitor every aspect of the project virtually. With a designated project manager and the use of multiple technology platforms, the company ensures no quality check is missed during the construction process.

Commenting on the announcement, Jayesh Rajpurohit, Co-Founder & CEO, Brick&Bolt said, “Lockdowns and social distancing made the pandemic particularly difficult for home builders. We wanted to build an alternative construction model that integrates safety, construction technology and customer comfort with on-ground construction activity. Through ‘Contactless Construction’, we have created a virtual system that facilitates quality assurance, better communication and collaboration between contractors, customers and vendors, all within the comfort of the customer’s home. It is one step forward in delivering on our promise to make construction transparent, predictable and truly digitised.”

Brick&Bolt is a start to finish aka design-to-build construction service provider that executes projects on turnkey basis and provides real time tracking, communication, quality checks and updates on projects from day one till the handover of the keys. The company raised USD 1.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round, led by Sequoia India’s scale-up programme, Surge, in February 2020. In August 2020, Brick&Bolt saw an additional raise of USD 2.20 million from Germany-based venture capital firm Foundamental. In the last three years, Brick&Bolt has recorded 1400% growth and the company plans to continue on the same trajectory. They have currently built 150 homes in Bangalore and Mysore and have an expansion plan in 4 more cities in the next two years and 15+ cities in the next 5 years.

Business World

BluSmart offers 50% off on all rides & rentals to Medics fighting COVID-19

May 4, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Anmol Jaggi, #BluSmart, #Co-founder & CEO

Gurugram, May 04, 2021: BluSmart, India’s first all-electric ride-hailing platform, today announced that the company is offering 50% off on all rides and rentals for the healthcare workers (medics), including medical doctors, medical students, paramedics, or an emergency medical responder (people who are specially trained to provide out-of-hospital care in medical emergencies). To avail of this offer, health workers can reach out to BluSmart by dialing +91 8287000500. BluSmart aims to maintain the highest standards of safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19 disease with utmost precautions and safety for their customers and driver-partners as well.

Furthering our commitment to ensure the safety of each customer and to minimize the spread of COVID19, at BluSmart we have taken our offerings to a whole new level in order to ensure the highest degree of safety and security. For instance, we have become India’s first taxi fleet to:

  • Get driver partners’ vaccination status on the app, which also showcases the driver’s temperature and last taxi sanitization time.
  • Create a cockpit that separates the driver-partners from the customers, to ensure customer & driver-partner safety.
  • Ensure no-touch travel for the customers, where the driver-partners open and close the doors for the customer and sanitizes customers’ hands before and after every trip.
  • Follow a no cancelation policy for all its rides, to ensure timely cab availability.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Anmol Jaggi, Co-Founder & CEO, BluSmart said, “The second wave of COVID like last year has brought about a series of challenges with itself. This initiative will help us eliminate some of those challenges brought about by the lack of accessibility, by providing our medics with a safe ride at a minimal cost. Due to lockdown being implemented again in the cities especially in Delhi there are a lot of barriers these medics might face while traveling and by this step, we aim to make their travel hassle-free.”

One of the fastest-growing electric mobility service providers, BluSmart has partnered with the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturers and features mobility technology.

News

Upstox Joins IPL As Official Partner

Mar 16, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Chairman, #Co-founder & CEO, #IPL, #Mr Brijesh Patel, #Mr. Ravi Kumar, #Upstox

Mumbai : The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) today announced Upstox, one of India’s leading and fastest-growing digital brokerage firms, as an official partner for IPL, which will begin on April 9th, 2021. This will be a multi-year partnership.

Founded with the vision of making financial investing easy, equitable, and affordable to all Indian investors, Upstox provides online investments in Stocks, Mutual funds, Digital Gold, Derivatives, and ETFs for both investors and traders. Backed by marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Upstox currently has over 2.8 million customers.

Mr Brijesh Patel, Chairman, IPL, said “We are pleased to have Upstox on board as an official partner of the Indian Premier League 2021. As one of the most-watched cricket leagues in India, IPL along with Upstox, one of India’s fastest-growing digital-trading platforms, can create a huge impact on the audience, especially the millions of Indian youth who are financially independent and looking for more options to manage their portfolios.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Ravi Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, Upstox said “We are thrilled to partner with BCCI for IPL 2021. In India, Cricket is more than just a sport. It is an important part of our culture and social life, with a huge fan-following, especially by the millennials. IPL has paved a bold new direction to Indian cricket in the last decade just like Upstox, which is revolutionizing finance in India. This is what sparks a natural connection between both the brands. With this integration of sports and finance, we intend to spread financial awareness across the country.”

For the first time in the history of IPL, a brand in the Stock and Mutual Fund sector would be partnering at large to create awareness about this category.

Business World, News

MediBuddy closes $40 Million in Series B – the biggest round of funding in the Digital Healthcare space

Feb 3, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Bessemer Venture Partners India, #Co-founder & CEO, #Director, #FinSight Ventures, #JAFCO Asia Fund, #LLC, #Managing Director, #Managing Partner, #MediBuddy, #Mr. Devarajan TP, #Mr. Satish Kannan, #Mr. Vikul Goyal, #Mr. Yousuf Mazhar, #Mr.Vishal Gupta, #Ms. Supriya Singh, #representative of India Life Sciences Fund III, #TEAMFund, #Venture Partner

Bengaluru:  MediBuddy, India’s leading digital healthcare platform announced the closure of its $40 Million Series B Round. This follows the recent infusion of $20 million led by India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, with participation from other investors. The digital healthcare platform had earlier announced an initial funding of $20 million (INR 150 crores) in June 2020 under this round. MediBuddy is led by co-founders Mr. Satish Kannan & Mr. Enbasekar, as the CEO and the CTO, respectively.

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented acceleration in digital healthcare adoption and MediBuddy has been at the forefront of this transformation. To-date, over 3 crore Indians have used the mobile and web platforms to access specialist doctors 24×7 on video, order medicines and book home collection of lab samples. In addition, several Fortune 500 companies in India have trusted MediBuddy as their preferred digital healthcare partner to help their employees access various healthcare benefits.

In June 2020, to create market leadership in the digital healthcare industry, DocsApp (India’s leading online doctor consultation platform) merged with MediBuddy. Going forward, both MediBuddy and DocsApp will operate under a single brand name – MediBuddy.

Addressing the press conference, Mr. Satish Kannan, Co-Founder & CEO, MediBuddy, said, “At MediBuddy, we strive towards making high-quality healthcare accessible to Indians across the length & breadth of the country. On any given day, we provide consultations to more patients than any leading offline hospital chain. Moreover, we are proud of the fact that over 50% of these users are from non-urban areas.”

Mr. Kannan also added that the potential of the MediBuddy platform has generated significant investor interest in the Series B round despite the uncertainty prevalent worldwide, helping it secure the highest funding in the digital healthcare space since the start of the pandemic. He also said that the Series B round attracted new investments from India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, TEAMFund LP, JAFCO Asia Fund, FinSight Ventures, ALES Global Japan and Beyond Next Ventures. Existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Milliways Ventures and Rebright Partners also participated in this round.

Mr. Vishal Gupta, Managing Director, Bessemer Venture Partners India, said, “We are fortunate to have been a part of Satish’s and Enba’s journey from the very early days. We continue to be strong supporters as they execute towards their aim of enabling more Indians to have access to high-quality healthcare.”

Mr. Vikul Goyal, Venture Partner, FinSight Ventures, said, “Telemedicine in India is growing at a monumental pace and the pandemic has only further amplified the importance of going digital. MediBuddy is by far the leader in the digital healthcare space in terms of scale, size & customers served; and we are excited to partner with MediBuddy in this growth journey to make high-quality healthcare accessible to a billion Indians.”

Mr. Devarajan TP, Managing Director, representative of India Life Sciences Fund III, LLC, on the Board, said, “The Fund is excited about partnering with MediBuddy and its dynamic leadership team with Satish and Enba at the helm. MediBuddy’s e-health platform enables customers access the entire gamut of healthcare services, be it tele-consultation services, lab tests or medicines, across devices. The Fund is particularly heartened by MediBuddy’s efforts at enabling such access in vernacular languages, which will be the key to meeting its mission of serving customers across the length and breadth of the country. Its marquee customer base, consisting of the India operations of several Fortune 500 companies, and many leading insurance companies, is testimony to the quality of services provided. The Fund’s representatives look forward to working with MediBuddy and supporting it in its endeavour to emerge as India’s preferred digital healthcare platform.”

Ms. Supriya Singh, Director, JAFCO Asia Fund, said, “The telemedicine market in India is a very large growing opportunity and MediBuddy is in a very strong position in this market. They have the most comprehensive platform to address the market needs. JAFCO Asia has been one of the key investors in Teladoc in the US which is right now at USD 38bn in market cap. JAFCO Asia is very proud to be a partner to Satish and Enba in the growth journey for MediBuddy.”

Mr. Yousuf Mazhar, Managing Partner, TEAMFund, said, “TEAMFund is very excited to partner with the team at MediBuddy, and is looking forward to helping build out their chronic disease management capabilities for remote patients. MediBuddy has built a first class, frictionless platform that integrates telehealth with essential lab and pharmaceutical services that we believe is amongst the best in the world. This is extremely valuable for patients across the country, and especially for those in rural and low resource areas who benefit from increased efficiency, lower cost, and increased access to specialized services.”

The digital healthcare platform will utilize the funding in further strengthening its doctor and hospital base, patient reach, product, technology and brand to move a step closer to its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to a billion people. Additionally, the platform has onboarded leading industry professionals over the last few months to drive critical areas, bolstering an already-strong leadership team.

With a network of over 90,000 doctors, 7,000 hospitals, 3,000 diagnostic centres and 2,500 pharmacies, covering over 95% of all pin codes in India, MediBuddy is well-positioned to strengthen its leadership position by providing 24×7 access to a range of healthcare services across India. MediBuddy is truly living up to its name of being a ‘buddy’ who can be trusted to meet all your healthcare needs.

Business World

Pre-budget expectation: Mr. Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee and Co-Founder, FACE

Jan 30, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Co-founder & CEO, #FACE, #KreditBee and Co-Founder, #Mr. Madhusudan Ekambaram

By Mr. Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee and Co-Founder, FACE (Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment)

The anticipation around the Union Budget 2021 is tremendous, especially for the fintech industry, considering the seam it has picked up in 2020. Given the surging prominence of digital initiatives in multiple facets, further attention needs to be given to the budget, towards enhancing its application and effectiveness. The multi-pronged implications of the same could be tax and policy reforms for the start-ups and tech-centric firms, prominent support towards strengthening the digital infrastructure, and profound support towards local innovation in the Make in India initiative.

Further, a clear and detailed guideline on global listings is the need of the hour as more fintech players are ready to list their companies on foreign stock exchanges while awaiting clarity on legal requirements, taxes, and other details. Foreign listings can help fintech players get greater access to capital and enjoy more exposure to a larger investor base. Guidelines clarifying where the companies can get listed and taxations are one of the sector’s key expectations from the budget.

While the government’s effort towards providing liquidity support to financial institutions is appreciable, its efficacy can be improved by covering alternative lenders (like digital lenders). The same can be ensured with an institutional framework providing liquidity to the NBFC industry, holistically. While efforts have already been made towards instituting a regulatory framework for digital lenders, a definite stance is awaited.

Business World, News

Purplle.com signs Bollywood star Sara Ali Khan as its first brand ambassador; launches the #GoPurplle Campaign

Jan 28, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Arun Iyer, #co-Founder, #Co-founder & CEO, #Manish Taneja, #Purplle.com, #Spring Marketing Capital

Mumbai: Purplle.com, India’s leading online beauty destination, has signed Bollywood GenNext star Sara Ali Khan as its brand ambassador. Purplle denotes Royalty in Beauty, with products made from imported ingredients, yet affordable and accessible to every woman. With a mission to democratize beauty, Purplle and Sara have come together to empower women to look inside out beautiful. The 360-degree campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Spring Marketing Capital. With a robust communication plan, Purplle will reach the heartlands of India to take its vision forward.

The brand’s newly launched campaign #GoPurplle featuring Sara Ali Khan is based on the same core tenet of ‘Beauty for All’.  With her signature sass and radiant glow, she showcases the gorgeous natural world of Purplle. It highlights its authentic product ranges from 6000 make up products to its 5000 natural product offerings with exotic ingredients; all under Rs. 400. Sara shares their 2-day-no-questions-asked Return Policy and free delivery for anyone’s first order on Purplle. She also reveals how the brand rolls out 300 new beauty products every month.

On being their first brand ambassador, Actress Sara Ali Khan, shared “Purplle stands for beauty that is inclusive and accessible to all. It enables women to fulfil their aspirations and even envision bigger dreams, as they look and feel their gorgeous best. I am extremely excited to embark on this journey with Purplle. It is a privilege for me to be the first face; proud to go Purplle!”

On the announcement Manish Taneja, Co-founder & CEO, Purplle.com said, “We are delighted to have Sara as the face of Purplle. She exemplifies the confidence and determination of a strong new-age woman. She is expressive, authentic and extremely comfortable in her skin, making her a powerful role model for young girls. Sara will lend her voice to inspire consumers to embrace their own unique journey; to make beauty reach the comfort of every home. This association is a step towards further strengthening the connect with our consumers. We look forward to an exciting partnership together.”

Arun Iyer, Co-founder, Spring Marketing Capital, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Purplle in its endeavour to not only become a one stop destination for beauty but also democratise beauty, and make it accessible to all consumers. Moreover, Purplle has a wide variety of natural products, an unparalleled offering in today’s market. Our aim has been to communicate all these features of the platform to consumers in a fun, quirky yet informative manner with Sara Ali Khan sharing our story.”

Business World, News

Logistics process streamlining & backend system enabling underway: Pawan Kumar Agarwal

Jan 21, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #1mg, #Aatmanirbhar Bharat, #Co-founder & CEO, #Founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip, #hri Pawan Kumar Agarwal, #Logistics, #Ministry of Commerce and Industry, #Shri Deep Kalra, #Shri Prashant Tandon, #Special Secretary

New Delhi: Speaking at IAMAI 15th India Digital Summit, Shri Pawan Kumar Agarwal, Special Secretary, Logistics, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GOI while giving keynote on Building future ready logistics network for the Country said, “Logistics and Supply Chain are omnipresent issues across the sectors but we realized their importance during COVID times”.

Shri Agarwal stated that “Unified laws across the different modes of transport is completed by the government however process on streamlining and backend system enabling are currently underway.”

Shri Agarwal stressed that use of technology in logistics is a very important area and perhaps, one area where lot of work needs to be done. “Different departments are already working towards systems and initiatives in this direction and moving forward the idea is to merge all these individual system and build a logistics data stand which can be used by new age companies to give market solutions”, he said.

In another session on Farm to Frontier Model for India’s Development, Shri Jayant Sinha, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha said, “India is forging a totally different development model – the farm to frontier model as opposed to the traditional one of farm to factory”. He also spoke on the need of upgradation of skills and supporting people with the right ecosystem so that they can produce more. “The individual needs to be embedded in a system where they can produce more – that is the path of economic development,” he said.

Shri Sinha explained his notion of Aatmanirbhar Bharat as Creation of Competitive, Sustainable and Resilient (CSR) industries in India. He also talked about how technology is the best solution to increasing productivity and to grow faster. The answer has always been technology to improve productivity – there is no other way. There is a need to give people the technology assistance so that they can be as adept to improve productivity and can generate more, earn more and become prosperous, he explained.

Shri Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip, in conversation with Shri Prashant Tandon, Co-Founder & CEO, 1mg shared his experiences as a pioneer of digital entrepreneurship in India for the past two decades. Shri Kalra also gave his take about the future of the digital economy and India’s role in it. He explained that Digital India is going to be a driver of growth in the decade to come. Owing to the nature of innovation and the speed of innovation in the digital space, India will be able to innovate their way to becoming global leaders in the space. He added that it is important for the Government to catch-up with the sector, but entrepreneurs should not rely on that to compete.

Shri Kalra further clarified that all burgeoning new entrepreneurs can do is to minimize their fixed costs and find ample resources to persist and innovate till the market realizes their value.

The event comprised of six tracks: Building National Digital Infrastructure; Marketing for the Masses; Innovative digital services beyond the first 100 million paid customers; Digitally Recharging Small and Medium Business; Digital Policies from Global Perspective but Indian Reality; Nurturing Indian Startups.