India | Pixr8 News

19May By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA

Bengaluru Airport Rolls Out India’s First e-boarding Facility

Passengers flying out of the Bengaluru airport will now no longer have to stand in long queues for boarding with the aerdrome operator BIAL rolling out an automated boarding process. The facility, e-Gate, enables airline services to integrate DCS (Departure Control System) to an automated boarding gate. The service has been implemented in association with Australia -based Elenium Automation, the budget carrier said. SpiceJet is the first carrier to use the e-boarding facility at the Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport. Under the facility, a passenger just has to scan his boarding pass and it takes less than five seconds to complete the boarding procedure, the airline said in a release today. Early results point to speeding up of the boarding process, making it simpler for pass...

18May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

INDIA

Apple Will Start iPhone SE Manufacturing in India This month

US tech giant Apple Inc today said it is beginning initial production of a "small number" of iPhone SE in the city and start shipping to domestic customers this month. "We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SE in Bengaluru. iPhone SE is the most popular and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world and well begin shipping to domestic customers this month," Apple said here. The Karnataka government had in February announced Apple Inc.s proposal to commence initial manufacturing operations in Bengaluru. The phones will be manufactured by Wistron, a Taiwanese OEM for Apple at Peenya in the city. Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge had on March 30 said that Apple would be ready to start assembling high-end iPhones in the city in less than a mon...

15May By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Indian IT Firm Tech Mahindra Entered Into Top-20 Global Tech Brands

IT firm Tech Mahindra today said it has entered into the Top-20 global tech services brands list (by brand value) in 2017,as per an independent assessment by a valuation and strategy consultancy, Brand Finance. It also said the company has potential to be in the top-5 technology services brands by 2020. Tech Mahindra has been ranked at No 14, with an impressive growth of 21 per cent over the previous fiscal, a joint release by Tech Mahindra and Brand Finance said. "Tech Mahindra has delivered excellent brand value growth of 21 per cent. Its brand transformation journey from being an Information Technology player to a Digital Transformation partner has shown great progress," Brand Finance Founder and CEO David Haigh said. "With its new brand promise of Connected World,Connected ...

Indian IT Industry Will Layoff 2 Lakh Engineers For Next 3 Years

14May By AnkitaNo Comments

ANALYSIS

Indian IT Industry Will Layoff 2 Lakh Engineers For Next 3 Years

Executive search firm Head Hunters India today said the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies. "Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth told PIXR8, analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum on February 17. McKinsey & Company report had said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be "irrelevant" over the next 3-4 years. McKinsey India Managing Director Noshir...

14May By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Online Fee Platform OnFees Looking to Raise Fresh Funding

Cash may have been the most-prevalent payment mode for educational institutions traditionally, but a push for digital economy post-demonetisation is making them change too and this has prompted three young professionals to start OnFees an online fee platform. Having tasted big success in Mumbai region with 35 organisations including some chains of institutions, and over 70,000 students on board in a very short span of just about 3 months, OnFees is now looking to expand to other parts of the country and is in talks for the second round of funding. While the first round of funding came from HNIs, the startup is looking for funding from established private equity and venture capital firms in India and abroad, its Chief Marketing Officer Manisha Thakur told Pixr8. 30-year-old Manisha...

Another U Turn, 2500 Rs Per Ticket is not The Fixed Price Under UDAN Scheme

11May By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA

Another U Turn, 2500 Rs Per Ticket is not The Fixed Price Under UDAN Scheme

Airfares as well as the government subsidy for airlines under the regional air connectivity scheme will be revised every three months depending on inflationary trends. The scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) provides for cap on air ticket prices and viability gap funding (VGF) for the participating carriers. The Civil Aviation Ministry has said caps on air ticket prices and VGF under the scheme would be revised on a quarterly basis. While airfares would be linked to inflation, VGF would be decided after taking into consideration inflation, cost of aviation turbine fuel and the rupee-dollar exchange rate. UDAN, that seeks to connect un-served and under-served airports as well as make flying more affordable, kicked off with the first flight taking off last month from Shimla to ...

Chaayos Will Open 20-30 Outlets in Few Months

9May By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Chaayos Will Open 20-30 Outlets in Few Months

Homegrown tea cafe chain Chaayos is looking to scale up its presence in Mumbai and Delhi, and plans to open about 20-30 outlets in the next few months. "We are looking at expanding in and around our current hubs Delhi and Mumbai. We are looking to open about 20-30 outlets in the next few months," Chaayos co-founder Raghav Verma told Pixr8. Chaayos currently runs 31 outlets across Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. "We can open another 15-20 outlets in Mumbai itself going forward, as it is under-penetrated. We are looking to open outlets in Pune, Gujarat, Goa, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and highways around NCR this year," he added. The Tiger Global-backed company is also betting big on the deliveries business, Verma said. "Our deliveries business is growing rapidly at almost 20 per cent mo...

7May By reutersNo Comments

INDIA

India’s Green Car Plan Prioritizes Electric Vehicles Over Hybrids

India's most influential government think-tank has recommended lowering taxes and interest rates for loans on electric vehicles, while capping sales of conventional cars, signaling a dramatic shift in policy in one of the world's fastest growing auto markets. A draft of the 90-page blueprint, seen by Reuters, also suggests the government opens a battery plant by the end of 2018 and uses tax revenues from the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles to set up charging stations for electric vehicles. The recommendations in a draft report by Niti Aayog, the planning body headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are aimed at electrifying all vehicles in the country by 2032 and will likely shape a new mobility policy, said government and industry sources. The report's focus solely on electric v...

Indian-origin girl in UK gets 162 IQ points, more than Einstein

6May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

INSPIRATIONAL

Indian-origin girl in UK gets 162 IQ points, more than Einstein

LONDON: A 12-year-old Indian-origin girl in England, who secured two points higher than geniuses Albert Hawking in the British Mensa IQ test, has been invited to join the coveted society as a member. Rajgauri Pawar appeared in the British Mensa IQ Test in Manchester last month, and scored 162 - the highest possible IQ for someone under the age of 18. She has been invited to join the coveted Mensa IQ test with the highest possible score. Pawar of Cheshire county is among the one per cent of those who sit in the Mensa test and achieve the maximum mark, with the 'genius' benchmark set at 140. She secured 162, two points higher than Einstein and Hawking. She is one of only 20,000 people to achieve the score worldwide, Mensa said. "I was a little nervous before the test but it wa...

6May By AdityaNo Comments

INDIA

India’s First ‘Pod Hotel’ Launched in Mumbai, Cost 2000 INR Per Night

New-age travellers visiting Mumbai and its suburbs can now enjoy a stay in a unique place - Urbanpod. And no, it is not pricey! The 'Pod hotel' offers rooms at affordable rates. This is India's first Pod hotel and its facility has come up in suburban Andheri consisting of 140 units. The initial investment was done by three promoters, and for expansion, the company is open for investments from venture funds, a top official said. "With an investment of Rs 5-15 crore per hotel depending on the locality, we are looking at an average of Rs 10-20 crore investment over the next three years," Urbanpod Co-founder and Director Hiren Gandhi told Pixr8. With an average price of Rs 2,000 per night, the individual pods are built in between 50 square feet and 90 sq ft space with self-contained a...

5May By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA

India is Set to Launch GSAT-9, A Gift to India’s Neighbours By PM Modi

India is set to launch its Geostationary Communication Satellite (GSAT-9), the South Asia Communication Satellite, that will boost connectivity among nations in the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the South Asia Satellite would be India's "priceless gift" to its neighbouring countries on his Mann ki Baat programme on Sunday. The satellite, which costs around Rs 235 crore, will blast at 4.57 PM. The Geostationary Communication Satellite, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will blast off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, about 135 km from here. GSAT-9, considered as a gift to its South Asian neighbours, is all set to ride piggyback on the space agency's rocket GSLV-F09 with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage. ISRO Chair...

Indian Startup Funding Sees Major Slowdown in Jan-Mar

4May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

ANALYSIS

Indian Startup Funding Sees Major Slowdown in Jan-Mar

The startup sector is not completely out of the woods as it saw a drop in investment of 36 per cent year on year at USD 236.81 million for the March quarter as investors are wary of early and mid-stage funding. According to a News Corp VCCEdge report, the startup sector saw 165 deals worth USD 236.81 million in the January- March quarter of 2017 while in the same period last year, it stood at USD 368.68 million by way of 314 deals. The report noted that early-stage funding went down as investors preferred to pump in money late. Angel and seed investments slumped both in volume and value terms, with deal volumes down to half with 120 deals in January-March compared to 245 in the same period of 2016. "A rise in Series-B funding even as seed and Series-A funding trends show a decl...