Bangalore: jivi mobiles has entered the smart phone market with its new product portfolio of 5 smart phones starting from Rs 3,333 to Rs 6,599 in India. Priced very competitively, every model comes with double warranty which means the user will get a free replacement and free screen replacement for 111 days from the date of purchase. Along with standard accessories, the customers will also get protection gears free of cost which included Tempered glass, protective case and flip cover.

Under the 111 days replacement warranty, the company is offering replacement of handset for hardware defect within 111 days from the date of purchase/activation. There is also free screen (LCD/TP) replacement one time within 111 days from the date of purchase & activation.

jivi smart phones exhibit great style combined with cutting-edge technology, the devices aspire to be the ideal companion for people who are looking for offering seamless and enhanced user experience at an affordable price.

Talking about the new range of smart phones, Mr. Pankaj Anand, CEO, jivi mobiles said, “We are extremely happy to launch our smart phone range for our discerning customers. At jivi, the focus is on providing the best technology at competitive prices. Our research team has worked tirelessly in making this a reality. We are one of the very few companies in the country to offer such a wide range of smart phones at such amazing price points and we are the pioneers in offering 111 days warranty as well. All our devices and chargers are Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) approved. The products would be ‘Made in India’, in our facility in Delhi. ”
Expressing his elation on the launch of smart phone, Irffan Khan, brand Ambassador of jivi mobiles said, “I have always known jivi to be an inspirational brand in India as they have assiduously worked towards achieving their goal of providing cutting edge technology at best prices to the customers. The new range of smart phones is a proof of their commitment and 111 days replacement warranty is a never seen before offer. I am very happy to be associated with jivi mobiles and would love to see through this association for a long time.”

jivi mobiles has taken a major step in the direction of realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of ‘Make in India’ by setting up two new facilities with an investment of Rs. 200 crores. Jivi Mobile first factory is in Mahipalpur, New Delhi built up on an area of 15000 sq. ft. which would cater to North and East India demand of jivi mobiles phones. Company’s 1st facility in Mahipalpur has a capacity to roll out 7 lakh phones per month and it employs some 350 employees in the first phase.

Second facility of jivi mobiles which is located in Lonavla, Maharashtra to cater to the South and Western parts of the country, would be operational in the coming months.

About jivi mobiles

Magicon Impex Pvt. Ltd., founded in 2004, is an implied manufacturer, importer & distributor of innovative products & services. Jivi mobiles, the company’s own brand was launched in 2011 with an aim to offer “Rich on Features, Value for Money” mobile phones to the Indian populace. JIVI Mobiles has a network of more than 550 service centers Pan India. Jivi Mobiles has a world class service support for customer query about product features and service support, facilitated by the toll free number. Having more than 20 branch offices, 25,000 dealers & 533 distributors under its umbrella, jivi mobiles represents the robust growth of a Smart Developing India.

Product Specifications

1. Model Name- Energy E3 Features- 4G VOLTE, Operating System- Android v6.0 (Marshmallow); Performance- 4GB ROM, 512 MB RAM, Quad Core, 1.3 GHz; Display – 4.0 inches, 480×800 px; Camera- 5 MP Primary Camera, 2 MP Front Camera; Battery 1800 mAh, Protective Case, Tempered Glass, Available in Black, Gold and Blue Colours; Price- Rs. 3333

2.Model Name- Energy E12 Features- 4G VOLTE,; Operating System- Android v7.0 (Nougat); Performance- 8GB ROM, 1 GB RAM, Quad Core, 1.3 GHz; Display- 4.0 inches, 480×800 px; Camera- 5 MP Primary Camera, 2 MP Front Camera; Battery 2300 mAh. Protective Case, Tempered Glass, Available in Black and White Colours Price- Rs. 3699

3. Model Name- PRIME 300 Features- 4G VOLTE, Operating System- Android v7.0 (Nougat); Performance- 8GB ROM with Flash, 1 GB RAM, Quad Core, 1.3 GHz; Display- 5.0 inches, 480×854 px with 2.5D Glass; Camera- 8 MP Primary Camera with Flash, 5 MP Front Camera; Battery 2500 mAh Li-Po. Protective Case, Tempered Glass, Flip Cover, Available in Grey Black and Gold Black Colours; Price- Rs. 4999

4. Model Name- Prime 390 Features- 4G VOLTE, Finger Print Sensor, Operating System- Android v7.0 (Nougat); Performance- 16GB ROM, 1 GB RAM, Quad Core, 1.3 GHz; Display- 5.0 inches, 720×1280 px with 2.5D Glass; Camera- 8 MP Primary Camera with Flash, 5 MP Front Camera; Battery 2400 mAh Li-Po. Protective Case, Tempered Glass, Flip Cover, Available in Grey Black and Gold Black Colours; Price- Rs. 5799

5. Model Name- Grand 3000 Features- 4G VOLTE, Operating System- Android v7.0 (Nougat); Performance- 16GB ROM, 2 GB RAM, Quad Core, 1.3 GHz; Display- 5.5 inches, 720×1280 px with 2.5D Glass; Camera- 13 MP Primary Camera with Flash, 5 MP Front Camera; Battery 3000 mAh Li-Po. Protective Case, Tempered Glass, Flip Cover;Price- Rs. 6599

Bengaluru: SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, inaugurated the newly renovated, school building of ‘Government Primary School’, located at Sompura near SABIC Technology Center (STC) site Sarjapura, under SABIC’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative in collaboration with its NGO partner Rotary Bangalore South. Chief Guest, Shri Tanvir Sait, Honorable Minister of Primary and Secondary education, Government of Karnataka and dignitaries from the state government, education department and panchayat, graced the event.

Shri Tanvir Sait, Honorable Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Government of Karnataka, who couldn’t make it to the inauguration event, sent his best wishes and appreciating SABIC said, “I highly appreciate SABIC’s efforts to carry out the construction of dilapidated school under their CSR Initiative in collaboration with Rotary, which is a great example for other corporates to follow.”

SABIC, in collaboration with Rotary Bangalore South, embarked upon the renovation and reconstruction of Government Primary School in 2016. The deterioration of the school building due to its age, mainly catering to the children from less privilege rural backgrounds, had led to a drop in students’ strength over a period of time.

Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice President, SABIC, South Asia & ANZ said, “The modernization and restoration of the school demonstrates SABIC’s commitment to continually improving the lives of the communities it operates in, as well as its support of education. SABIC has been supporting education in many ways including school infrastructure upgradation in Bengaluru and Vadodara. Renovation of the school building in and around Sarjapura has helped us in providing better learning environment to the children. With the restoration of the school, SABIC aims to provide equal access to education and reduce the infrastructure gaps to provide better facilities for students from less privileged rural back grounds. ”

SABIC undertook the reconstruction of the school over a period of 7 months, which included reconstruction of classrooms, principal’s room, renovation of kitchen area, construction of separate toilets for boys and girls, renovation of new assembly area for morning assembly, new play area equipment for the playground, purification system for providing drinking water facility for the school, installation of CCTV security cameras and finally the whole structure was painted to give the school a new life. Apart from the reconstruction of Sompura lower primary school, SABIC provided drinking water filters, benches, school bags, note books, library books, almirah for library, in 10 schools in the nearby areas. We also donated an E-Learning system in two schools in Sarjapura, Anekal Taluk to help improve the education facilities.

Kishan Gurram, Director & Site Head, SABIC Technology Center, Bengaluru reiterated SABIC’s commitment to education by stating that after renovation of the school, students’ strength has increased and it has also helped provide a conducive and safe learning environment for the children.

With employee engagement at the core of SABIC’s corporate social responsibility, SABIC employees volunteers across India spent over 350 hours volunteering for the initiative in last two years, working closely with the program partners and supporting with on-ground logistics. This school was also included for various CSR activities that are organized by SABIC in schools such as They See, They Learn, vision screening program of SABIC, health check camps, Teacher’s Day education awareness activities and school bags distribution.

PP Sridhar BR, Ex- President Rotary Bangalore South said, “We have been partnering with SABIC on the modernization and restoration of schools in Sarjapura for the past 3 years and the impact generated through the efforts is noteworthy. Primary education is an important area that requires urgent attention and is vital for strengthening the education system in our country.”

In alignment with SABIC’s global CSR policy, SABIC in India focuses its CSR efforts on the promotion of education, with special attention to less-privileged children and youth. As a part of our CSR efforts to support sustainable education, SABIC has in the past restored and upgraded schools with enhanced infrastructure and is working on more such projects. SABIC runs several initiatives in coordination with CIPET at either end of the know-how spectrum supporting the National skill development objective.

SABIC in Asia, through our signature Lights of Our Future program, with a syllabus created by SABIC employee-volunteers, teaches young children about saving water, conserving energy, managing waste, and reducing our carbon footprint. The program has reached more than 2,100 students in Singapore and China this year.

SABIC’s CSR programs in India are aligned with CSR RAISE strategy (Reputation, Audience, Innovation, Strategy and Endurance). To read more about SABIC’s CSR strategy and find out more about our CSR programs, please see https://www.sabic.com/en/sustainability/corporate-social-responsibility

NOTES TO EDITORS
SABIC should be written in every instance in all uppercase.
High-resolution photos are available upon request.

ABOUT SABIC

SABIC is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We manufacture on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

We support our customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 18.77 billion (US$ 5 billion) in 2015. Sales revenues for 2015 totaled SR 148.09 billion (US$ 39.49 billion). Total assets stood at SR 328.22 billion (US$ 87.53 billion) at the end of 2015.

SABIC has more than 40,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, we have filed more than 10,960 patents, and have significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies – USA, Europe, Saudi Arabia, South East Asia and North East Asia.

The Saudi Arabian government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent publicly traded on the Saudi stock exchange.

At SABIC, we combine a rich track record of doing what others said couldn’t be done with a deep understanding of our customers. But our true impact is as a collaborative partner who can help our customers achieve their ambitions by finding solutions to their challenges. We call this ‘Chemistry that matters™’.

ABOUT SABIC IN ASIA

Established in the 1980s, SABIC Asia has over 40 offices and close to 3,000 employees across the region. With 10 manufacturing and compounding sites in China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand, SABIC constantly strives to better serve our customers in the Asian region. A leading global organization in research and technology, we have two Application Centers in Moka, Japan and Sungnam, Republic of Korea and four Technology Centers in Bengaluru, India, Shanghai, China, and Suwon and Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

The Raymond brand of shirting & suiting certainly needs no special introduction. They have been at the service of their clienteles & customers across India since the last 9 decades building up their own phenomenal reputation as far as branded fabrics are concerned.

On 14th Aug, 2017, a day prior to our 71st Independence day, “The Raymond Store” opened its new outlet in Jayanagar, the fashion hub, of Bangalore. And so on this auspicious day all roads across Jayanagar led to 4th Cross of the 11th Main Road to witness the grand opening of “The Raymond Store” at the hands of the veteran Kannada actor in tandem with Ram Bhatnagar (Vice President – Sales – Raymond), Mohit Dhanjal (Director – Retail – Raymond) & above all Gautam Bhobe – Genral Manager of “The Raymond Store”).

With the arrival of the Chief Guest namely Kannada actor Srinath, along with Ram Bhatnagar, Mohit Dhanjal & Gautam Bhobe, a perfunctory lighting of the Ceremonial Lamp was performed declaring the opening of the grand Raymond’s store of Jayanagar on the 4th cross of the 11th Main Road.

This was followed by a tour of “The Raymond Store” for the guest & the media ending up with a Press Conference held in the basement of “The Raymond Store”.

This was again followed by a dinner party, for the guest & the media, almost 5 kilometers away from the main Raymond’s store. Needless to say that many of them could not make it due to lack of proper guidance from the PR team of Corporate Communications in tow with the PR team of Elkay PR. The same misguidance occurred while handing out the Raymond’s media kit, no wonder many of them had to leave empty handed while others walked away with more than one media kit. One hopes Rohit Khanna of Corporate Communications is tuned in!!!!!

Coming to the introductory part, a few words about the most popular Raymond’s brand will certainly not be out of place. So Raymond’s is India’s largest integrated worsted suiting manufacturer that offers end – to – end solutions for fabrics & garmenting.

Over the years, Raymond has been synonymous with quality, innovation & market leadership. It has some of the most leading brands within its portfolio, like Raymond Ready To Wear, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Raymond Made To Measure amongst others.

Raymond has one of the largest exclusive retail networks in the country with over 1000 stores across 400 towns and the currently launched Raymond’s store is housed in the posh locality of Jayanagar, Bangalore and also happens to be the largest Ramond’s store in India spreading across 11000 sq feet.

As a part of the diversified Group, Raymond’s group also has business interests in men’s accessories, personal grooming & toiletries (barring their inner wear which can then make them a “Complete Raymond Man”), prophylactics, engineering & auto components across national & international markets.

Having enjoyed the patronage of over a billion consumers, Raymond as a brand has been consistently delivering world class quality products to its consumers over the past 9 decades.

So the city of Bengaluru now has an all – new fashion destination with the inauguration of an exclusive new format “The Raymond Shop” at Jaynagar. Sprawling over 11000 sq. ft, the store is conveniently located in the heart of the city & offers a wide array of clothing options for the discerning consumers through an exquisite range of Raymond Fine fabrics as well as ready to wear apparel, ethnic wear & Footwear.

Built way back in 1997, The Raymond Shop has been a landmark and has enjoyed the patronage of its consumers over the past 2 decades. The inauguration ceremony was attended by eminent personalities from the city.

Speaking during the launch of this new store, Mohit Dhanjal, Director – Retail, Raymond Limited averred, “Being one of the most admired brands in the country; Raymond has enjoyed the patronage of its consumers since the past 92 years. As the consumer landscape in India is evolving at a breath taking speed, it is imperative for Brick & Mortar players to innovate with retail formats that promise consumers a pleasurable shopping experience. This all new format of Raymond Shop has evolved with the changing needs of consumers and offers them the avenue to create a wardrobe across occasions. ”

In the same breath Ram Bhastnagar, Vice President – Sales Raymond Limited enlightened the gathering by averring, “Raymond Limited is soon coming up with the ethnic wear in lieu with Khadi fabrics. The Raymond Khadi range will certainly be one of its kind to be launched on 2nd October 2017 coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s, (Father of the nation) birth anniversary.”

While consumers can select from an array of fabrics to craft suits, trousers, shirts & jackets and avail Custom Tailoring Service that offers the perfect fit. The store houses a wide range of finely crafted garments from Raymond Ready To Wear, stylish & innovative wardrobe solutions from Park Avenue, fashion casual wear for occasions beyond work from Parx & smart casuals from Color Plus.

In conclusion one can say that to complete the look consumers can choose from a wide range of accessories like ties, belts, bows, cuff links & pocket squares (barring the innerwear’s of course) and also shop for a brand new pair of shoes from the footwear section.

A dedicated Raymond Made to Measure area in the store offers discerning consumers an avenue to personalize their ensemble bringing together their own personal style.

With festive season around the corner, one can select a wide range of finest ethnic wear options such as Kurtas, Sherwanis, Bundis & Indo western.

The Raymond Shop (TRS) has been delivering finest quality fabric & garments to customers since its inception in 1958. The Raymond Shop’s wide reach & range of products, makes it the largest one stop retail network in the country. Raymond’s retail network constantly sets new benchmarks in the industry and strives to create an environment that make shopping a pleasurable experience.

Agrahyah Technologies (AT) has been conceptualized by 3 friends turned entrepreneurs namely Sreeraman Thiagarajan, Rushabh Vasa & Uppal Shah. The young Turks are developing AT as software technology start – up to build a suite of apps (applications), products & content ground – up for millions of Indians who are non – English literates.

Agrahyah Technologies aim to make technology useful for everyone and remove English as a barrier for getting full advantages of the internet. Calculator for India is their 1st product. It is fully functional & free calculator that is available in 11 Indian vernacular languages including, Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi & Telugu.

In past 6 months since its inception, AT is working to build apps & content in Indian vernacular languages which cater to the masses in a culturally & a contextually relevant way. Technology giants & government are working to get more people online by increasing connectivity, but it raises an acute challenge in terms of inclusion. Of the approximately 400 million plus Indian users online, only 175 million users are comfortable with English.

The World Wide Web is dominated by English. India has over 400 million Hindi literates but WWW has less than 0.5% of Hindi content online. These stark differences will grow further if the language divide is not addressed adequately & urgently.

There is a huge gap in the availability of high quality apps & content in vernacular languages. This is where AT steps in to build a bridge with a unique approach of building high quality apps & content for users in vernacular languages.

The philosophy at AT is to be culturally & contextually relevant for each language. For instance, AT has developed “Calculator For India” a free Android app that works in 11 Indian languages and also has GST calculation feature.

This is the 1st ever step to build multi -vernacular web for the growing number of Android users in India. AT is also launchingHotFridayTalks.com later this month, which is a Lifestyle & Entertainment portal that aims to be a tech lead, mobile first & new age hangout for youth. The vision is to develop a lifestyle portal with content written in each of the vernacular languages rather than merely translate it.

by Saleela Kappan

Chennai/Bengaluru: Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country’s 2nd largest car manufacturer and leading passenger car exporter unveiled the much-awaited Super Performer Brand – The Next Gen ‘VERNA’ with SUPER BODY STRUCTURE in Chennai today. Hyundai Motor India breaks new ground with its 5th Generation game-changer sedan slated for launch on August 22, 2017.

The Next Gen Verna is a technological marvel developed with Futuristic Design, Dynamic Performance, Super Safety and New Technology & Advanced Features. The Superior performance of Next Gen Verna stems from vehicle’s SUPER BODY STRUCTURE frame built out of 50% Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS).

Speaking at the Showcase, Mr. Y.K Koo, Managing Director & CEO, HMIL said, “We are proud to announce the unveiling of the most awaited and aspirational Next Gen Verna for Indian market. The 5th generation Next Gen Verna is a true expression of a Superior Sedan crafted with perfection and excellence in Engineering. Next Gen Verna will create a disruption in the sedan segment with its benchmark features and performance for customers’ delight. Verna has a rich legacy and has strong presence in more than 66 Countries for over 8.8 Million customers across the world and 3.17 lakh units in India.”

The Next Gen Verna is a result of our numerous Product Clinics and Rigorous Product tests on various terrains in India and worldwide. Our R&D Centre in Namyang (S. Korea), Chennai and Hyderabad has put extreme efforts to make this a world-Class sedan for Product Supremacy and utmost customer satisfaction, he added.”

SUPER BODY STRUCTURE

The Next Gen Verna with ‘SUPER BODY STRUCTURE’ is built on Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) body structure including Hot stamping Applications that enables the sedan for superior performance and unmatched safety ensuring Best-in-Class body rigidity, Structural Changes and Crash Performance. The Rigid and Responsive Chassis, and improved impact Harshness offers Superior Road feedback to the driver for a confident driving experience. The SUPER BODY STRUCTURE ensures adequate weight control thus enhancing both performance and fuel efficiency.

The Next Gen Verna has outstanding low NVH characteristics by the use of enhanced sound absorption materials and STRONG BODY STRUCTURE (AHSS) and improved engineering of design. Multiple measures have been taken to contain NVH to barely perceptible traces such as engine and transmission mount design change, implementation of tunnel insulator, extensive application of foam filler in cavity etc.

Superior Ride & Handling

The Next Gen Verna is engineered to deliver superior ride and handling for utmost driver confidence and enthusiastic driving experience. The 5th Generation Verna is built on the All New K2 platform thus enabling precise tuning of key suspension components for enhanced cornering and high speed stability, superior ride comfort and precise handling performance, making it the Next Gen Sedan optimised for Indian conditions. The rear suspension geometry has been modified for stable and comfortable ride for rear passengers by vertical angle of rear shock absorbers and coil springs on the coupled torsion beam axle.

The front suspension uses an optimally designed McPherson strut with coil springs and gas shock absorbers along with a front stabilizer to help reduce the body roll when cornering. The standard Motor-Driven Power Steering System (MDPS) has been tuned to provide superior feedback while cornering and at high speeds thus delivering precise handling response and confident drive. The front wheel caster angle has been modified to further enhance the steering feedback to the driver at Highway speeds.

Engine and Transmission

The Next-Gen Verna is equipped with the most powerful powertrain options with a choice of two power packed 1.6 litre Dual VTVT petrol and 1.6 litre U2 CRDi VGT diesel engine. The engines with advanced 6 Speed Manual and 6 Speed Automatic Transmissions have been tuned to provide superior low and high speed performance to suite city & highway driving with high fuel efficiency.

The Best-in-Class powerful 1.6 litre Dual VTVT petrol engine offers 123PS power with high fuel efficiency and 1.6 litre U2 CRDi VGT diesel engine offers best in segment 128PS power.

Bookings Open: The booking for Customer starts today at all the dealerships across India.

For further information, contact:

Hyundai Motor India Ltd
Ravi Sharma (+91 9899290497)
Email: ravisharma@hmil.net

Hyundai Motor India Ltd
V Anand (+91 9810758141)
Email: anandv@hmil.net

Mr. Satish Reddy will be instrumental in strengthening global ties of USA and Foreign Countries and plans to strengthen the political interests of India on global platform
25th July 2017, Transformation is evident not only in USA but also across the world while America is approaching their next Presidential Election in 2020. Robby Wells who is elected as the next presidential candidate for Democrat party has appointed Mr. Satish Reddy the Managing Director of World News Network, a citizen and a media baron from India as the International Ambassador of Foreign Relations recently.

Mr. Satish Reddy who has been instrumental in establishing a platform for entrepreneur across various sectors all over the world, had previously been responsible in organizing Paris Appreciation Award atop Eiffel Tower to encourage innovation and promote the rise of entrepreneurship. This successful initiative had brought together delegates from all over the world on one platform and offered new opportunities for global economy.

On the occasion of being appointed as the International Ambassador of Foreign Relations, Managing Director Mr. Satish Reddy added “Robby wells as a presidential candidate of Democrat party for 2020 Elections in USA would certainly create an affinity among Americans and Indian American population. Myself being appointed as the international ambassador for foreign relations i would certainly strive for encouraging both the countries in making financial alliances that will lead to potential economic growth in various industrial sectors. I also intend to promote Indian political interests by educating the candidate about the foreign policy of the country, thereby creating a better understanding about the Indian policies vis a vis the world. Mr .Robby Wells would be meeting political and administrative dignitaries around the world to promote sustainable development of nations along with peaceful cooperation through exchange of ideas over a cordial platform .I would be coordinating these activities along with Mr Wells and Team Riseup encouraging enterprise through sustainable development while protecting the environment and resolving political issues in a peaceful manner across the world. As international ambassador of a US presidential candidate I am hopeful it will only widen the scope of my current vision. We plan to organize summits which will include participation of political and administrative dignitaries along with industrial heads across the world in Europe, Asia, America , Africa, Middle East to strengthen global ties.”.

Mr. Robby Wells, the presidential candidate for 2020 elections added “We are pleased to announce that Mr. Satish Reddy has joined the ‘Rise Up – Robby Wells for President 2020’ campaign as the International Ambassador of Foreign Relations. Mr. Reddy brings a wealth of experience to the campaign as the founder and CEO of the World News Network. His worldwide contacts will help this campaign and ultimately the United States in building long lasting relationships and alliances.

Mumbai: SmashUp, one of the flagship events of TiE Mumbai was held at ISDI ACE, Lower Parel over the weekend. In the last 7 years, SmashUp has brought together new and aspiring entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and boost peer learning from successful entrepreneurs. SmashUp is a platform where ideas mature into action plans inspired by stories of successful as well as not so successful strategies.

The main highlight of the conference was Smasher Award – a Spot funding platform created by TiE Charter Members, wherein six shortlisted startups pitched for a grand prize of $40K (~ INR 25 Lakhs). Each StartUp was given 15 mins with the investors (5 mins to pitch, 5 mins Q&A and 5 mins to discuss the details of funding). This year, the Smasher Award was bagged by a startup called IPHawk. It was funded by Sanjay Mehta, Dewang Nerella and other TiE Angels. The group of angel investors will become mentors and open doors for the StartUp rather than just passive investors.

Founders of Purple Squirrel, TinyOwl – Saurabh Goyal, Taskbob – Assem Khare, Zimmber – Anubhav Goel participated in a session called ‘StartUp Tales: Starting the 2nd Innings’ where they narrated their struggles, challenges in starting a venture, guide to raising the first million, surviving the first year after fund raising and finally the process of shutting down. Situations related to investors, staff relations and reasons for calling it quits which have never been spoken in open forums were discussed by these daredevil founders.

Commenting on the grand success of SmashUp 7.0, Mr. Anand Desai, President, TiE Mumbai said “Over the years SmashUp has established itself as a platform where entrepreneurs get access to and direction from those who have walked the path. This year too, SmashUp is successful in meeting expectations of the startup ecosystem. TiE Mumbai’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship and we will continue to give new entrepreneurs access to the startup ecosystem.”

About TiE:

TiE is a non-profit, global community catalyzing entrepreneurship development, through five pillars of activity – mentoring, networking, education, incubating and funding. TiE was founded in 1992 by a group of successful entrepreneurs and is today the world’s largest organization in its space. The Mumbai chapter has recently forayed into angel funding, another helping hand to fledgling entrepreneurs, with a ticket size of Rs.25-50 lakh. A total of 20 such angel networks are active across the TiE platform. Other programmes like TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) and Mentor Match are also accomplishing the TiE mission of guidance to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

by David Bodapati

Trading Away Health – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Next week, Hyderabad is set to host the 19th round of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) from July 24 to 28, a regional trade agreement between India, the ten member states of the ASEAN and, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Republic of Korea. This trade deal threatens to undermine the ability of some of the world’s poorest people to get access to good quality medicines at cheap and affordable prices.

Since 2012, the RCEP trade agreement has been under negotiation between the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six countries that have existing trade agreements with ASEAN: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. Notably, the RCEP countries are home to nearly 50% of the global population, including some of the world’s most impoverished and marginalised communities.The RCEP trade agreement is being negotiated in secret, without input from public health stakeholders.

“Amongst a handful of developing countries with a huge production capacity to manufacture quality-assured generic medicines, India did not grant patents on medicines till 2005 and thus, its generic companies produce some of the cheapest life-saving drugs in the world,” said Shailly Gupta, Deputy Head, MSF Access Campaign (India).

Death warrant to people living with HIV

Known as the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’, India played a major role in scaling up treatment to 17 million people across the world by lowering the price of anti-retrovirals (HIV medicines) from Rs. 6 lakh ($10,000) per patient per year in 2001 to less than Rs.18,000 ($300). The Indian government presently provides free Anti-retrovirals (ARV) to 9.94 lakh people (out of 24 lakh) living with HIV. Any trade agreement which forces the increase in price of these life-saving medicines will not only hamper the Indian government’s public health programme but is a sure death warrant to thousands of HIV positive people in India.

Similarly, the drug Imatinib can completely cure Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) or Blood Cancer. A month’s treatment using one of the branded varieties of Imatinib drug would cost Rs 1.24 lakh per patient per month while it is just Rs 5,720 per month per patient with the generic variety.

“As a medical treatment provider, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) relies on affordable, quality generic medicines to treat a number of diseases. In fact, 97 per cent of the medicines used by MSF to treat HIV are generics sourced from India,’’ said Gupta.

“As a medical humanitarian organisation working in nearly 70 countries, MSF is concerned that demands for intellectual property provisions in the intellectual property and investment chapters could potentially challenge a government’s capacity to initiate and execute policies to protect public health and ensure affordable access to medicines for all,” she added.

According to the leaked text, Japan and the Republic of Korea are pushing for provisions that go far beyond international trade rules (known as TRIPS-plus rules) to extend drug corporations’ patent terms and introduce the most damaging form of clinical trial data monopolies. Further, the proposed elevated levels of IP enforcement would delay generic competition and translate into higher prices for lengthier periods of time, which would, in turn, prevent the flow of affordable generic medicines from producer to patient. These provisions offer pharmaceutical corporations a blank cheque for abuse. In developing countries, where people rarely have health insurance and must pay for medicines out of pocket, high prices keep life-saving medicines out of reach – and this is often a matter of life and death.

Dangerous trend

RCEP’s damaging provisions are similar to those included in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement between the United States and eleven other Pacific Rim countries signed in February 2016 after years of secretive negotiations. Seven countries are common to both the TPP and the RCEP. The TPP has been repeatedly referred to as “the worst trade deal ever for access to medicines.”
“It is disturbing to note that Japan and the Republic of Korea (who are also part of the TPP) are seeking to include similar damaging IP provisions in a trade agreement that includes many more developing countries,” said Leena Menghaney, Head South Asia, MSF Access Campaign.

“Multinational pharma corporations view robust, affordable generic medicines produced and marketed by Indian suppliers as an enormous threat to their profits.,” she added.

Dr Gopal Dabade, President, Drug Action Forum – Karnataka, feels that India’s patent law and the argument that multinational drug manufacturing companies based in the US and Europe deserve compensation for the large amounts they spend on research is not valid. “Most of the innovation happens at public-funded institutions and universities. The teams here do the basic research and then the drug companies develop it and market it. There are countless studies that show that drug companies really spend more on advertising and promotion. At times they may even spend on research, it’s mainly to gauge how to sell a drug better,” says the renowned doctor and health activist.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited USA to meet president Donald Trump.During their meeting one important agenda was that India should amend its Patent Law so as to suit the American drug manufacturing companies. It is not just USA but also the European Commission which is currently having trade negotiations with India which is called a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It suggested India to make changes so that it will bring more profits to the big drug companies in Europe. But this will also seriously hamper access to medicines across the developing world,” Dr Dabade added.

If the IP provisions proposed in RCEP are accepted, access to affordable life saving medicines will be restricted for people in India and around the world who rely on life-saving affordable generics made in India. Many organisations and activists are gathering in Hyderabad to undertake protests and marches to oppose the trade treaties which can trade away the health of the poor people.

David Bodapati is a journalist turned health activist working with networks of people living with HIV and other marginalised groups to support Access to Medicines.

London: Britain-based luxury phone-maker Vertu, which rolled out smartphones carrying hefty price tags, is closing down, the media reported.

The company recently faced financial difficulties and will be liquidated after a plan to save it failed, BBC reported.

Nearly 200 jobs will be lost as a result of the company’s liquidation.

“Well it’s gone into liquidation and I’m not being paid by them any more,” a spokesman for the firm was quoted as saying.

The company apparently struggled to find a customer base for its $46,600 polished 18-carat red gold phones, Mashable.com reported on Friday.

The past few years for the makers of the jewel-encrusted cellphones have been tumultuous, and all the $1,200 Vertu Grape Lizard Slip Cases in the world were not enough to save the company from its financial troubles, the report said.

Vertu was founded by Nokia in 1998, but it was sold in 2012. The following year, Vertu switched from using Nokia’s Symbian operating system to Google’s Android.

(IANS)