Month: October 2023

·         Aims to ensure financial security through PMJJBY & PMSBY

The State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest bank, organised a comprehensive workshop aimed at enhancing the outreach of Jansuraksha Schemes at the Gram Panchayat level. The workshop brought together bank officials from 11 States and Union Territories with the goal of empowering the Lead District Managers to facilitate the adoption of two important schemes: Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) among eligible citizens. As part of this drive, officials of the Bank will drive awareness through organizing successful camps in every Gram Panchayat and Ward in each district across the nation.

Under the PMJJBY scheme, individuals can obtain life insurance coverage, while PMSBY offers accidental insurance cover of ₹2.00 lacs each, all at an affordable premium of ₹436 and ₹20 per annum, respectively.

The inauguration of this significant program was graced by distinguished individuals, including, Shri. Prashant Kumar Goyal, Joint Secretary (FI) from the Department of Financial Services, Government of India, Shri. Alok Kumar Choudhary, Managing Director (RB & O) at SBI, and Dr. P.C. Saboo, Chief General Manager – Financial Inclusion, SBI Corporate Centre, Mumbai. The workshop saw the participation of all Lead District Managers (LDMs) responsible for districts assigned to SBI, SLBC officials, and Nodal Officers (Lead Bank) from the States and Union Territories of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat, New Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Daman & Diu.

This initiative underscores SBI's unwavering commitment to Financial Inclusion. Shri. Prashant Kumar Goyal, Joint Secretary (FI), Department of Financial Services, Government of India, emphasized the objective of achieving complete coverage of eligible citizens under the Jansuraksha Scheme, stating, “Our goal is to cover 100% eligible citizens under Jansuraksha Scheme.” Shri. Alok Kumar Choudhary, MD (RB & O) at SBI, motivated the participants to extend banking services, including government schemes like PMJJBY and PMSBY, to all sections of society, with a particular focus on unbanked and under-banked areas. 

Photo Caption – Anushka Sen, winner of Usha NIFT (Delhi) Best Garment Construction Award 2023,

being felicitated by Usha’s Regional Representative – Sewing Machines

Usha International, India’s leading sewing machine company has partnered with the country’s leading fashion institute NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) to reward creativity of budding fashion designers passing out from the institute across Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Kangra, Kannur, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Panchkula, Patna, Raebareli, and Shillong.The Usha NIFT ‘Best Garment Construction Award’ 2023 award for Delhi was presented at the convocation ceremony today and the winner was Anushka Sen.

The winner received an Usha Janome Allure DLX automatic sewing machine, a certificate, and a cash prize of INR Rs 10,000as part of the award. The evening saw a congregation of NIFT faculty and NIFT students along with their families. Usha has been sponsoring this prestigious award annually since 2000.

Talking about the association, Usha’s spokesperson said, “This partnership with NIFT underscores our commitment to fostering talent in the fashion industry and celebrates the exceptional creativity and skill of these young students”.

Usha Janome Allure DLX, the innovative, state-of-the-art sewing machine won byAnushka Senhas automatic needle threading, with an LED sewing light, a feed drop lever for embroidery, 13 built-in stitch functions, and 21 applications including buttonhole stitch, rolled hemming, stretch stitching, embroidery, zip fixing, quilting, smocking, etc. A sturdy base provides 3x stronger stitches vis-à-vis other machines. Usha Janome Allure DLX sewing machine is also equipped with a free arm for circular stitching, and two dials for pattern and stitch length selection.

For more information please visit:www.ushasew.com

The spot admission event at Taj Deccan offers Indian students a golden opportunity to explore NMSU's diverse academic offerings, interact directly with university delegates, and take the first step toward a bright academic future.

Cements its position as India’s fastest-growing OTT aggregator

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, today, announced that its video streaming service, Airtel Xstream Play, has crossed the five million paid subscriber mark in October and continues to be the fastest growing OTT aggregator in the country.

Airtel Xstream Play offers India’s largest bouquet of OTT content aggregated on a single app. Customers have access to premium content from partners such as Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Chaupal, Hoichoi, FanCode, ManoramaMax, ShemarooMe, Alt Balaji, Ultra, ErosNow, EPICon, Docubay, Playflix, etc. and can watch 40,000+ movie titles and shows from 20 content partners on the Airtel Xstream app with a minimum recharge of Rs. 148.

Commenting on the milestone, Adarsh Nair, CEO – Airtel Digital, said: “Although India has 40+ OTT apps and a wide selection of premium video content, discovering and paying for this content is challenging. Airtel Xstream Play helps to bring together the largest selection of premium OTT apps under one app and one price. We recently added Alt Balaji, Fancode and Playflix bringing us still closer to our ambition of having the widest selection of premium content and twenty million subscribers.”

A wide variety of series, movies and sporting content has garnered heavy user interest on the platform lately. Forty-seven per cent of the time spent on the platform was spent on series such as Scam 2003 and Scam 1992 while movies came a close second with a 37per cent split led by regional blockbusters such as Carry on Jatta (Punjabi), Por Thozhil (Tamil) and Voice of Sathyanathan (Malayalam). Sporting content has also emerged as a fan favourite with Asian Games and the bilateral cricket series between Australia and South Africa. For more information, visit https://www.airtelxstream.in/

~Launch premium range of S-OIL SEVEN Brand in India~

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd., a Hinduja Group company, and a premier Indian lubricant manufacturer, takes a significant stride in enhancing its product portfolio for the Indian market by unveiling the globally acclaimed S-OIL SEVEN range through a strategic collaboration. In this partnership, Gulf Oil will oversee the production, distribution, and promotion of premium OEM like KIA India dealer network. The comprehensive product lineup features a variety of Passenger Car Gasoline Engine oil variants and a Passenger Car Diesel Engine Oil variant.

Furthermore, Gulf has the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute the globally acclaimed S-OIL SEVEN range throughout its extensive network, actively bolstering the brand's reach and resonance within the Indian market. This marks the maiden venture where an S-OIL product line is being produced outside South Korea. The S-OIL SEVEN range encompasses a spectrum of fully-synthetic, semi-synthetic and premium lubricants, harnessing the exceptional attributes such as very high viscosity index within the Group II/III class base oil. This exceptional range assures elevated technical performance and an enriched driving experience.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Ravi Chawla, MD and CEO, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd added, “We gratefully acknowledge S-OIL and KIA Motors India for entrusting us with the responsibility of delivering world-class production capabilities. Our successful collaboration with S-OIL is a pioneering milestone as it marks the first time an S-OIL product is being manufactured beyond the borders of South Korea. This achievement brings advanced Korean technology to the forefront of Indian production capabilities, elevating industry standards. We are immensely delighted that the global partnership between S-Oil and KIA Motors India has materialized in India through our collaboration. We are determined to maintain the elevated standards that have been established on a global scale and strive to exceed expectations at every step of the way.”

About the collaboration with Gulf Oil Lubricants in India, Mr. S H Son, Team Leader, S-OIL, expressed, “It is with great pleasure that we witness the realisation of our envisioned outcomes from the partnership with Gulf, an association initiated nearly three years ago. The industry insight and expansive distribution network of Gulf Oil Lubricants position us favourably for extensive market penetration in India. The business journey of S-OIL and Gulf Oil Lubricants will embark on a more wonderful voyage starting today, and S-OIL SEVEN will evolve into a new emerging leader in the Indian lubricant market.”

The S-OIL SEVEN range offers diverse lubricants, including fully-synthetic, synthetic, and mineral oils tailored to the Passenger Car and Motor Cycle Oil categories. Furthermore, it extends to mineral oils designed for the Diesel Engine Oil category fully synthetic and synthetic transmission oils.

Gulf Oil Lubricants’ transformative collaboration with S-OIL SEVEN is set to herald an era of cutting-edge lubrication solutions in the Indian market. This strategic partnership signifies the successful fusion of technological excellence and industry expertise.

The city of Faridabadcame to a standstill as crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of Bollywood actorSonakshiSinha at the inauguration of Kalyan Jewellers’ showroom at Nehru Ground. This brand new showroom, inaugurated by Bollywood diva SonakshiSinha offers a luxurious shopping experience to customers, with a wide array of jewellery designs. The company has been consistently expanding its brand footprint and operations in the region, to supplement its growth and make the brand more accessible to patrons in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the enthralled crowd, Bollywood starSonkshiSinha said, “I am thrilled to inaugurate this magnificent new Kalyan Jewellers’ showroom in Faridabad. It's a privilege for me to be a part of this remarkable occasion. I believe that Kalyan Jewellers' stunning collections are a perfect fusion of grace, paying homage to the diverse traditions followed across our nation. Serving as a representative for this esteemed brand fills me with great pride, knowing that it is built on the pillars of trust and transparency, along with a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. I am confident that the patrons in this region will wholeheartedly embrace and support the brand.”

Talking about the new showroom, Mr. Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director of Kalyan Jewellers, said, “As a company, we have achieved huge milestones and taken major strides towards creating a holistic ecosystem to enhance the customer shopping experience. We are delighted to announce the launch of our new showroom in Faridabad. As we embark on this next phase of our growth journey, consistently expanding our geographical footprint in the region, we are committed to continue offering best-in-class shopping experience to our customers while staying true to the company's core values of trust and transparency in times to come.”

The newly-launched showrooms will feature an extensive range of designs from Kalyan Jewellers' jewellery collections, presented in a world-class ambience. Additionally, the “Kalyan Special Gold Board Rate”, which is the lowest in the market and standardized across all company showrooms, will apply, ensuring a seamless and service-backed shopping experience. In celebration of the showroom launch, Kalyan Jewellers is offering a unique promotion of 0% making charges on half the purchase value for customers shopping for a minimum of Rs. 1 lakh. These offers are valid for a limited period only.

~ With the new stores, the retail brand aims to strengthen its presence in the northern markets of the country ~

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group announced that its business Godrej Interio, a leader in home and office furniture has launched new outlets in Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The stores are spread across a sprawling 10,300 sq. ft. and 2,250 sq. ft. in Gurgaon and Noida respectively, along with an exclusive mattress gallery of 750 sq. ft. in Gurgaon. These stores will provide an impetus to Godrej Interio’s retail presence in both these region and Northern markets in India.

The stores are located in an emerging residential neighbourhood and in the proximity to offices, entertainment hub and shopping complexes. They offer specially crafted quality products in home storage, home furniture and mattresses in different styles and finishing. On the occasion of new store launches, and upcoming festive season, the brand is introducing an inaugural promotion, giving customers discounts up to 30% and an opportunity to win complimentary furniture.

Speaking on the importance of the new store in Gurgaon, Dev Narayan Sarkar, Sr. Vice president (B2C), Godrej Interio, said, “Owing to the strategic locations of the store and Godrej Interio’s strong and growing brand recall in the market, we expect the store revenues to touch INR 5 Cr per annum cumulatively by FY24. With the opening of this new stores, Godrej Interio has expanded its footprint in Northern India, where it has a significant client base. We plan to open another 12 outlets in the state by the end of F.Y.24 and plan to grow by 25% in FY24. We also expect revenues to reach INR 130 Cr for the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and INR 350 Cr for the northern zone.”

Due to the strong brand recognition, we are certain that the brand will further expand the customer base bringing more patrons into the rapidly expanding Godrej Interio family.”

SBI General Insurance, a leading general insurance company has unveiled a series of three brand filmsreiteratingtheir core values of “Suraksha” (safety) aur “Bharosa” (trust) Dono.  The film aims to boost awareness about insurance by portraying relatable real-life situations. By doing so, the brand seeks to establish a deeper and more meaningful connection with its audience, making the concept of insurance more accessible and relatable to people’s everyday lives.

The brand film features a series of scenarios spanning various non-life insurance product categories i.e., Motor, Health, and SME.

Through an interesting andengaging storytelling format, the filmshighlight the importance of being prepared for any unforeseen situations that could arise at any point of time in life. The brand film adopts a real-life, humorous tone to highlight these vital insights.E.g.the first Health film depicts a simple carefreepicnic day with your family which could suddenly take a U-turn and escalate into an emergency with something as small as choking on a moongphali (peanut), while the secondMotor film showcasesthat another person’s mistake can cause an accident with financial ramifications and the third SME film showcases how having an insurance could give an individual a peace of mind even when one is faced with unexpected obstacles

The objective of the film is to create awareness about SBI General’s diverse product range, catering to various age groups and market segments. This approach helps the audience relate to the scenarios and understand the importance of being adequately insured in different aspects of life.

Commenting on the brand film launch, Mr. Rathin Lahiri, Head Marketing and CSR, SBI General Insurance said, “Insurance is a complex category with low consumer penetration. Our brand communication aims to own the category benefits of protection and trust which are the key benefits that the consumer is seeking from leading brands in this category. The insight behind the film is that unexpected situations can arise at any moment, and being prepared with the right insurance plan from a trusted brand can help you live your life with confidence. SBI General Insurance provides you ‘Suraksha aur Bharosa’ which lets you lead your life with confidence.”

The series of three ad films focuses on educating the audience on the benefits of being insured, the confidence that it gives the consumer and highlights the hassle-free claims process.

The campaign will be integrated across platforms, including digital media, television, and social media channels.

YouTube links to Brand Films:

https://youtu.be/27BPmX36xes

https://youtu.be/ZTfGGT9fMLo

https://youtu.be/nwXVFGsk9DQ

Bank of India (BOI) signed an MoU with REC Limited to jointly explore the possibilities of funding projects in sectors such as Power, Infrastructure and Logistics under a consortium arrangement. BOI and REC will join hands to co-finance loans amounting to Rs30,000/- crore over the next few years.

Esteemed members such as Shri T.S.C. Bosh, Executive Director (Infra & Logistics), REC and Shri Nitin G. Deshpande, CGM (Corporate Credit), BOI signed the MoU in the presence of Shri Vivek Kumar Dewangan, IAS, CMD, REC and Shri Rajneesh Karnatak, MD & CEO, BOI. Shri Ajoy Choudhury Director (Finance), REC and other senior officials from REC and BOI were also present during the meet.

REC Limited, a 12th Maharatna CPSE established in 1969, under the Ministry of Power, provides long-term loans and other finance products for the Power Infrastructure segments comprising Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewable Energy and new technologies such as Electric Vehicles, Battery Storage, Green Hydrogen, etc. Recently, REC has diversified into the Non-Power Infrastructure segment comprising Roads & Expressways, Metro Rail, Airports, IT Communication, Social & Commercial Infrastructure (Educational Institutions, Hospitals), Ports and Electro-Mechanical works related to various other sectors such as Steel, Refinery, etc.  The loan book of REC exceeds Rs4,54,393 crore.

Bank of India – a leading Public Sector Bank – has operations spread across the country and abroad. Founded in 1906, BOI is one of the largest Public Sector Banks in India with a Gross Global Business of Rs12,14,808 crore and a significant portfolio of assets funded under infrastructure and other sectors.