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ASAI joins EU-wide pledge toward responsible advertising to children
The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland has joined forces with other counterpart agencies in Europe for a continent-wide initiative aimed at changing for the better how products are marketed towards children.
24 August 2018
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland has joined forces with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), in providing a complaints mechanism for the EU Pledge, a voluntary initiative by leading food and beverage companies to change the way they advertise to children.
Supported by the World Federation of Advertisers, the EU Pledge is a response from industry leaders to calls made by the EU institutions for the food industry to use commercial communications to support parents in making the right diet and lifestyle choices for their children, particularly those under the age of 12.
The initiative consists of two main commitments:
- No advertising for food and beverage products to children under the age of 12 on TV, print and internet, except for certain nutritional products.
- No communication related to products in primary schools, except where specifically requested by, or agreed with, the school administration for educational purposes.
“As members of the European Advertising Standards Alliance, the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland is committed to promoting the highest standards of marketing communications,” said Orla Twomey, ASAI CEO. “The EU Pledge requires an accountability mechanism and the ASAI look forward to taking part in this process.”
To learn more, visit www.eu-pledge.eu/


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Not for much longer. Flipkart recently launched its image recognition feature to search for similar products based on a picture input, following in the footsteps of Myntra. This online product discovery function works particularly well for mobile marketplaces, prompting startups such as Wazzat Labs and Mad Street Den to create business models that ease the sales conversion from offline to online.
“I find the idea really international as fashion giants like Neiman Marcus have used this technology for their apps,” said Singh on her experiments with the new Flipkart feature.
A substantial portion of ecommerce sales are made only after customers browse through products at brick and mortar stores, a so-called “showrooming” process that is particularly popular in fashion. For example, an Accenture study last year found that 72% of US shoppers had “showroomed” over the past year.
“Many customers do enjoy the retail experience, spending time in a store looking at different product options and receiving product demos,” said Anand Kumar Jaiswal, associate professor of marketing at IIM Ahmedabad. “Meanwhile, online retailers provide lower prices and items that are otherwise not easily available.”
Narrowing down on colours and patterns is not enough. Online custom jewellery portal Voylla has developed an in-house visual search feature to match jewellery with outfits. Meanwhile, Chennai-based Ingage is about to launch an app that not only allows users to search for mobile phones, books and groceries using visual cues, but also compares prices across online and offline worlds.
Conversely, online discovery of offline products is for experience-intensive categories in which customers are more keen to browse online but purchase offline, such as food, electronics and kitchen appliances, as well as low-value categories like books and toys.
Consumers are a lot more deal prone in the online world, so there’s a lower level of customer loyalty, added Jaiswal, citing results of his forthcoming publication. This is why ecommerce sites are scrambling to create direct offline-to-online sales channels to drive sales on their own platforms.
Companies such as Vizense, Flipkart’s visual search partner, currently run on a software-as-a-service model. “Retailers pay for our image recognition technology because it helps them achieve more sales and make the customer search process more efficient,” said Oliver Tan, co-founder and CEO of the Singapore-based company, adding that another common use case is users who discover new looks via social media.
(With inputs from Barani Vaith in Chennai)
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2 Comments on this Story
revti singh2022 days ago
The only problem I have with this screenshot is that I found a comma missing in my reply. You see I am a grammar Aunty. 'I am not going to be Colours Swathi who was 16, forever'. Phew!with that said, the reason I put it up is because I don't want to ignore this guy's banal comment and let him and others know that if looking grown up is 'Aunty' then I am an Aunty."
Dinakar Varadarajan2027 days ago
It is indeed a great idea, but still they could have thought about this much earlier. Japan has started this virtual wardrobe long ago.
Talking about the customer loyalty, yes ofcourse the customer loyalty would be very less as substantial amount of people how prefer to shop online would look for deals/discounts and they will head towards who ever is offering.
This is one side of the coin, talking about the other side, people still have the issue of size mismatch or product mismatch. There comes the issue of reverse logistics if the customer is thinking of returning the product.
One should actually take a look at how much of percentage of the goods are getting returned. Reverse logistics is a major cost to the companies again, hence this could be one more reason why they are not willing to offer any substantial discounts.

domain: news


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Farm Exports Boom in Argentina
By TONY SMITH
Published: March 26, 2003
BUENOS AIRES— Horacio Castagnola permits himself a smile as, with a deft series of mouse clicks, he fills his computer monitor with satellite photographs of the multicolored patchwork of farms in Argentina's fertile corn belt.
By cross-checking land registers with the satellite images, taken every 16 days from 500 miles above the earth, Mr. Castagnola, Argentina's general director of taxes, can keep track of who is planting which crops, when they will be harvested, how much tax the farmer ought to be paying.
Hence the smile.
Tax money is pouring into the coffers of the financially strapped country -- 5.5 billion pesos ($1.9 billion) in January, 64 percent more than a year earlier -- and Argentina's original economic engine, its farm sector, is responsible for much of the amount.
While most of Argentina's economy is still groping for the smelling salts after a four-year recession, the farm sector is enjoying a boom in export sales, helped considerably by the plunge in the value of the Argentine peso last year.
After a decade pegged at parity with the dollar, the peso was cut loose last January, and is now worth about 34 American cents. Painful for most Argentines, the devaluation has wiped out most farmers' debts by making their products much cheaper overseas and effectively tripling the domestic value of their export sales.
As a result, Argentina's trade surplus tripled last year to $15 billion, with about half of the country's total hard-currency earnings coming from agriculture, said Ernesto Ambrosetti, the chief economist at Sociedad Rural, a farmers' association.
Though the Brazilian currency, the real, did not fall nearly as far -- just 35 percent against the dollar in the last year -- Brazil is also enjoying a farm export boom.
Farmers in the two countries have responded by stepping up production. Soybeans, Argentina's main cash crop, now occupy 64 million acres in Argentina alone. With record harvests in the offing, Argentina and Brazil together are on track this year to harvest more soybeans than the United States, the first time in memory that that has happened.
American businesses are jumping in. Bunge, a major American food processor based in White Plains, is idling its soybean plant in Cairo, Ill., and turning its attention to operations in Argentina and Brazil, while Bunge's giant rival, Archer Daniels Midland is expanding in Brazil.
Even the crisis in Iraq is helping rather than hindering South American farm exports. In the first two months of 2003, Brazil sold nearly $500 million of produce -- mainly chicken, beef and sugar -- to the Middle East, 60 percent more than in the comparable period in 2002, as countries in the region stockpiled supplies.
The timing of the Argentine devaluation -- in January, in the middle of the Southern Hemisphere's growing season -- worked to farmers' advantage.
''Farmers planted at one-to-one but harvested at nearly four-to-one, and most managed to liquidate their debts,'' said Alejandro G. Elsztain, chief executive of Cresud, an Argentine farmland management company, referring to the peso-to-dollar exchange rate. ''It was a one-off,'' Mr. Elsztain said, ''but it certainly helped put the sector back on its feet, and now it's generating an amazing cash flow.
''Before the devaluation, Argentine farming was efficient,'' he added, ''now it's hyperefficient.''
In the prosperity of the 1990's, Cresud saw the prices at which it bought or sold good-quality farm land rise from $2,000 a hectare (about two and a half acres) to about $5,000; prices collapsed in the political and economic turmoil surrounding the devaluation, the company said, but they are rising again and are now around $3,500 a hectare.
And it is finding buyers. Of the 29 large farms it owned in 1997, Cresud has sold 11, using the profits to erase $20 million in debts and to buy a 24 percent stake in IRSA, a commercial real estate company with a market value of $150 million; Cresud has an option to buy another 12 percent.
The farming boom has brought badly needed business to other sectors as well.
Toyota was quick to spot the potential, and registered itself as a grain dealer with the Buenos Aires Cereals Bourse so that it could take grain as payment for its HiLux pickup trucks.
The rest of the Argentine auto market has all but collapsed, but HiLux sales are up 25 percent in the last year, said Mario Gilbert, a Toyota commercial director in Buenos Aires. Now, he said, the company is planning to trade in grain futures as a substitute for extending credit, and it has opened talks with llama farmers to barter wool for trucks.
All this activity promises a measure of salvation for the country's battered treasury, which has promised the International Monetary Fund that it will come up with 74 billion pesos in tax revenue and post a surplus this year. ''Agribusiness is, without doubt, the engine driving the government's tax effort,'' Mr. Elsztain said. ''The I.M.F. should be very happy with us. Without agribusiness and oil, Argentina would never meet the surplus they are demanding.''


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Technology helps fight battle of bulge
MURFREESBORO – More than one third of adults in Tennessee are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but an expert at Saint Thomas Rutherford thinks technology may help to reverse that trend.
During the past 20 years, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in obesity, and as the nation has become fatter, more diets, fads and equipment has been created to help shed unwanted pounds.
The latest technologies to be introduced to the battle of the bulge have been wearable devices that monitor fitness and personal health levels. The most recent of those is Apple Watch.
The Fitbit, which looks like a colorful bracelet and tracks activity level, quality of sleep and other health data, has been the most prevalent and is used by many fitness-conscious individuals like Susan Yost and her husband, Robert.
Robert Yost said he has lost 40 pounds since he started wearing a Fitbit last December.
“He’s running and keeping it off. He’s doing good,” Susan Yost said as the couple stood in line Friday at the Verizon store on Thompson Lane, waiting for their chance to buy an iPhone 6.
She added the wearable health tracker made her realize how little she moves during the day at work and reminds her to get moving more.
“Like the other day, I only had 3,000 steps, and I had to go running to get my activity level up,” Susan Yost said.
Carrie Peck, an exercise physiologist at Saint Thomas Rutherford, said many people wear them along with their regular watches.
But they do more than look stylish. The Fitbit is used to track sleep patterns, activity level and “things that people could track to make a positive change” and provides accountability that will help fight the obesity epidemic.
“It could truly impact an individual’s personal health by having it right on their wrist,” Peck said. “And, since it’s right there on your wrist, it will hold you accountable.”
With the announcement of that Apple’s smart watch will be able to keep track of health stats also as simply it keeps track of the time, Peck thinks the wearable device could be a game changer.
“It makes it ‘easy,’” she said. “In today’s fast-moving society, it always seems that we are looking for the most fast, efficient, easy way to do things. The wearable device is the fastest growing in the digital health market.”
According to Apple, its new watch will include new Activity and Workout apps that are designed to help motivate users to be more active throughout the day and provide metrics during dedicated workout sessions.
The Activity app measures three separate aspects of movement: calories burned, brisk activity and how often you stand up during the day. The Workout app provides goal-setting and pacing during popular session-based workouts, such as running and cycling.
The smart watch also uses the accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from an iPhone to provide a comprehensive picture of daily activity.
The companion Fitness app on the iPhone collects activity data, so users can see their activity history, goals and milestones, the company said in a press release.
“If it can truly do what it says it will do or the rumors that we hear it can do, it would be able to give the doctor more information,” Peck said.
While she would recommend the tool to monitor physical activity, Peck noted it should not be solely relied upon, but rather, used in conjunction with and to enhance the doctor-patient relationship and has the potential to show medical professionals more information about patients, like when certain symptoms occur.
“If the watch keeps up with activity level and sleep levels like the leading products, it can help with signs of sleep apnea,” Peck said.
Yost said wearable fitness trackers have helped her and her husband make positive changes in their lives, and she is particularly excited about the prospect of having one device to help track her health levels, the time and more, she said.
Even though the watch will not be available until early 2015, Yost is planning on getting one to replace her Fitbit and analogue wrist watch.
“I’m excited about getting one device that does it all,” she said.
Contact Michelle Willard at 615-278-5164 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter @MichWillard.


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Owner Arthur Sanoyan has worked in the entertainment industry in Vegas and L.A. That’s important to note — because when you step into Taboo Lounge for the first time, you may think you’ve left Charlotte for a moment.
However, he’s no stranger to the Charlotte scene either, having worked in 32 nightlife venues in the city. “I decided to do a crazy split with an upscale lounge on one side and a retail store on the other. The name Taboo works perfect with two evils under the same roof,” he said, referring to both liquor and smoke sales.
Sanoyan owns a smoke shop by the same name in Pineville, and he said he saw a need to add a smaller retail space inside of the Interstate 277 loop.
Taboo Lounge will open at 7 a.m., serving sand coffee and offering Wifi to those wanting to utilize the space for work. Traditionally, sand coffee was a Turkish-style method of preparing coffee using heat from desert sand, Sanoyan said.
Taboo will also serve craft cocktails by mixologist Todd Bayley. Many will feature CBD, including one called Buzz City, a honey CBD craft cocktail with Hendrick’s Gin and butterfly pea tea; and another called Cat Scratch Fever, a tequila-based cocktail with simple pearl dust, activated charcoal, lemonade and a blue CBD pixie-stick rim.
As hemp and CBD continue to gain in popularity, it seems only natural that retailers would begin to consider how to incorporate those experiential products into their shops. High-end restaurants and bodegas alike are getting in on the trend — Haberdish, 15th Street Market, Lenny Boy Brewing Co., Living Kitchen, Mitty’s Café and Smooth Monkey are among others in Charlotte offering CBD as a food or beverage ingredient. Charlotte CBD is now open on Central Avenue and local companies such as Prime Sunshine serve as growers and distributors of the product.
In addition to CBD cocktails, Sanoyan will serve by-the-scoop CBD ice cream. “Now that hemp is becoming legal, we’re starting slowly with 1-2 CBD drinks right now, but if it’s something people enjoy, we can see about edibles as a garnish, etc.,” Sanoyan said.
L.A. Vapors is also prominently featuring CBD and hemp products, with at least 8 strains of hemp flower and hundreds of CBD products.
FDA restrictions aren’t detrimental, vape shop owners say
Even as the Food and Drug Administration last week announced plans to clamp down on tobacco enforcement, the growth of smoke shops in Charlotte don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
In an attempt to protect youth, the FDA announced plans on Thursday to ban menthol cigarettes and many flavored small cigars, and it recommended further restrictions on sales of sweet-flavored electronic cigarette liquid. This news earned support from a few Charlotte-area vape shop owners, some of whom said convenience stores will likely be affected by the new regulations more than vape shops.
Alohma, LLC founder Sam Salaymeh said his company is the largest U.S. vape shop owner, with 113 shops total including 20 Madvapes shops in the Charlotte area. “That for us is a beautiful thing. Most of the steps that have been highlighted are regarding limiting access to youth vaping, smoking, nicotine consumption. We very much support limiting access to the youth.”
Salaymeh is meeting with the FDA in December to discuss technologies that would help limit transactions from occurring without a valid government ID. These technologies are currently being tested out in the Charlotte Madvapes shops, and if all goes well, will be rolled out to the rest of Alohma’s shops in the country and eventually the ones in Germany and Ireland.
“Our headquarters is in Mooresville, so it’s very easy for us to test in Mooresville and Charlotte. New technology will prevent human error,” he said.
Infinity’s End owner Frank Pietras said the company has always been proactive with preventing underage access to tobacco, e-cigarette liquids and e-pods. “As a longtime tobacco retail shop, Infinity’s End expects to continue the sale of Juul products and approved e-liquids and does not expect to be forced to discontinue the sale of all flavored e-liquids as is expected to happen to all convenience stores and gas stations,” Pietras said.
Juul Labs announced last week it would no longer sell most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores and it would discontinue using social media. “We stopped accepting retail orders for our Mango, Fruit, Creme, and Cucumber JUUL pods to the over 90,000 retail stores that sell our product, including traditional tobacco retailers (e.g., convenience stores) and specialty vape shops,” CEO Kevin Burns stated in a letter on the company website.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC that sales of flavored e-cigs could be limited to vape shops, which he said do a better job of checking identification than convenience stores.
At the new Gateway Village spot, L.A. Vapors won’t sell cigarettes, choosing instead to focus on hemp and vape products that help relieve tobacco addiction, Sanoyan said. “Costumers have not only quit 45-year-long habits but have decided not to vape either, once the urge was killed by dropping the nicotine levels by using vaping products,” he said.
“They [the FDA] have been coming up with restrictions since 2015, planning more and more,” Sanoyan said. “We work with companies that have certain things in place to fight against it and watch it closely to make sure everything we do is legal and by regulations.”


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Customers who have recently purchased items from Yankee Candle, on Amazon, now overwhelm the site with negative reviews: They claim the candles have little or no scent.
One review, from December 20th, for the Balsam and Cedar scent, reads, “I’ve bought this candle before, and the fragrance would fill the room. This one barely has a scent. Boo.”
Another review from December 19 reads, “No scent whatsoever unless you face-plant into the glass vessel. Burned it for eight hours, and ta-da, NO fragrance.”
But, the candles may not be the problem—it’s possible the customers lost their sense of smell, a condition called anosmia, which is one of the defining symptoms of COVID.
Nick Beauchamp is an assistant professor of political science at Northeastern University. Beauchamp has charted the complaints, for the top three Yankee Candles on Amazon. He tracked when the negative reviews began, and how much those complaints increased, weekly.
His graph shows a sharp spike around December, just as the Omicron variant led to a new wave of COVID cases in the US.
And a similar analysis, done last winter, showed reviews of the top scented candles on Amazon dropped about one full star between January 2020 and November 2020.
Still, both researchers say that, while this data seems like evidence of a COVID surge, it shouldn’t be treated like a scientific study.


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How to turn £10 into a fortune
GERMAN car giant BMW sold Rover for just £10 in 2000 to the 'Phoenix Four', comprising ex-Rover boss John Towers, Peter Beale, John Edwards and Nick Stephenson.
Hailed and feted five years ago as Rover's saviours amid hopes that the Longbridge-based firm would prosper, they and their chief executive Kevin Howe have been under fire for the millions they have paid themselves while Rover sales and profits slumped.
Here are the five key players:
John Towers, chairman of Phoenix Venture Holdings, 57.
Grammar school-educated former Rover boss and long-time motor industry executive who saw and seized the main chance of securing Rover from BMW for £10 in 2000.
A graduate in mechanical engineering from Bradford University, he joined Perkins Engines, where he spent 17 years. He then switched to tractormaker Massey-Ferguson where he was managing director.
A year later (1988) he moved to Land Rover and in 1999 to Rover Group, rising steadily to chief executive in 1994 and leaving in 1996.
The Phoenix Four have amassed a collective £16.5m pension pot, although it is not known how much each will get as it is held in trust.
They each risked only £60,000 each on the original deal, so their pensions alone represent a pretty healthy return in just five years.
In March 2004, John Towers denied he and his team were asset strippers, but one motor industry boss said: 'They saw a chance to make a fortune and grabbed it. They got Rover and a huge dowry on a plate.'
Peter Beale, 59.
Nick Stephenson, 56.
Tall, Ampleforth-educated engineering boss with 25 years' experience at Rover. Joined Leyland Vehicles in 1978 and was a member of the Rover Group board from 1996-9. Deputy chairman of Phoenix Venture Holdings since 2000.
John Edwards, 57.
Car dealer boss with a chain based in Stratford-upon-Avon. Deputy director of Phoenix Venture Holdings since 2000.
Kevin Howe, 43.
Installed by the 'Phoenix Four' as chief executive. Former managing director of Rover's small and medium cars division where he was unpopular with the workforce because of his confrontational style. Spent 11 years with Rover before moving to Rolls-Royce for just six months and returning to join Rover in May 2000 under Phoenix.
• History: The 100-year journey of Rover
• Profile: The bosses who spent £10 to make themselves a fortune
• Comment: Mismanagement at root of Rover's demise
• Analysis: The fallout for Labour
• Report: What will happen to Rover's suppliers?
• Profile: The man at the centre of the saga
• Report: Phoenix plan 'doomed from the start'
• Report: Aid package lined up for West Midlands
• Poll: Should the Government bail out Rover?
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SEMA, DAY THREE: ASA partners with three companies
ASA Tire Systems announced three new partnerships at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas.
1. Mitchell1: The goal of the partnership is to "give store owners increased efficiencies in running their daily operations" by using ASA's TreadX point-of-sale system with Mitchell1's OnDemand5 Estimator, according to ASA.
"The TreadX interface with Mitchell1 gives our customers the opportunity to provide complete service to their customers with one integrated solution," says President Wayne Croswell. "They can review manufacturer-recommended vehicle services, create labor estimates and enter parts -- all within the TreadX system.... TreadX even allows like labor items to be combined with a few simple key strokes."
2. Open Road Technologies: The ASA Mobility Suite features wireless hand-held bar-code readers. The mobile software suite of products initially will focus on inventory management, including receiving inventory. It will be expanded to process emergency service work orders, technician work-in-process functions and car-side order processing.
3. Pearl Communications: Previewed at last year's SEMA Show, the Tire Brands integrated database is complete, according to Dave Duchesne, ASA's vice president of sales. "It gives your salesperson the chance to sell more on value than on price."
The database, part of ASA's TreadX software, allows for one-click access from an inventory look-up screen to an individual "features & benefits" screen, which includes tire images, specifications and UTQG ratings. It will be updated quarterly, adds Duchesne.


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Label materials supplier UPM Raflatac joins U.S. Plastics Pact, committing to meet ambitious circular economy goals by 2025
UPM Raflatac, a global leading manufacturer of pressure sensitive labels, is pleased to announce it has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. This collaborative, solutions-driven initiative is rooted in four ambitious goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. The first North American Pact of its kind, the U.S. Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Activators like UPM Raflatac recognize that significant, systemwide change is imperative to realize a circular economy for plastics. As such, the U.S. Pact will convene more than 70 brands, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies across the plastics value chain to bring one voice to U.S. packaging through coordinated initiatives and innovative solutions for rethinking products, packaging, and business models.


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If you regularly use a Windows 10 notebook with an external screen,..
Microsoft is gradually rolling out the latest version of the Your Phone..
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A wide-ranging climate bill that requires Rhode Island to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was signed into law over the weekend by Gov. Daniel McKee.
“With four hundred miles of coastline, urban and rural coastal communities, fishing and agricultural industries, the Ocean State is on the front lines of the climate crisis,” McKee said in a statement after the bill-signing ceremony. “The Act on Climate represents a commitment that not only addresses a moral imperative, but also presents a platform to enhance our economy, public health, environmental equity, and natural environment.”
The plan will be updated every five years. It also addresses environmental injustices, public health inequities and a fair employment transition as fossil-fuel jobs are replaced by green energy jobs.
Verizon recalls mobile hotspots
Verizon is recalling 2.5 million mobile hotspots after some reports of overheating and two reports of minor burns.
The 4G hotspots were used by schools and sold by stores. They are called Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspots and were imported by Franklin Wireless in San Diego.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the lithium ion battery in the hotspots can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.
Out of the 2.5 million units, there have been 15 reports of devices overheating, including six reports of fire damage to bedding or flooring and two reports of minor burn injuries.
The units were sold by Verizon stores in the U.S., other stores and school districts between April 2017 and March 2021.


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2020 Hyundai Santro is expected to get a new front grille and bumper amongst other cosmetic updates; 1.1-litre petrol engine will remain with BSVI compliance
The third-generation Hyundai Santro debuted in the Indian market in October 2018 as part of the twentieth year celebration of the small hatchback that really set the foundation for the South Korean brand. The latest Santro endured a pretty good start to its lifespan as it managed to average around 7,000 units in its initial months but the sales crisis hampering the industry’s progress did take its toll.
The volume sales of the Santro took a big hit from May 2019 onwards and Hyundai retailed only 3,288 units in August. In the meantime, the third-gen Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, the arch-rival of Santro, flourished throughout the year as it continuously excelled more than 12,000 units monthly. In response, Hyundai did shuffle things up in the Santro’s range earlier this year.
In October 2019, the company introduced the Hyundai Santro Anniversary Edition wearing sporty black treatment along with subtle design changes. The special edition has been offered in Sportz and Sportz AMT trims priced at Rs 5.16 lakh and Rs 5.74 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively. In July 2019, the D-Lite and Era variants were discontinued giving room for a more feature-packed Era Executive.
The variant count was reduced to four, which resulted in an increase in the base trim’s pricing. In October, the Santro received an anniversary special edition with subtle cosmetic updates. Currently, the Hyundai Santro costs between Rs. 4.3 lakh and Rs. 5.79 lakh (ex-showroom) and it will more likely get a minor facelift in the early parts of next year.
The 1.1-litre four-cylinder petrol engine kicks out 68 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 99 Nm of peak torque delivered at 4,500 rpm. It is connected to a five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed ‘Smart Auto’ AMT as an option. The CNG variants, on the other hand, use the same powertrain to generate 58 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 84 Nm at 4,500 rpm.
The 2020 Hyundai Santro won’t likely see any performance or fuel efficiency changes besides the BSVI compliant. As for the exterior, it could gain new front grille and a redesigned bumper amongst other subtle updates. The interior may receive some added equipment to keep the offering attractive for the descending customers.


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It's been a busy past 12 months for Tesla, and not all of it good.
The year also saw price hikes, supply chain issues, delays, recalls, plenty of negative publicity, and more of CEO Elon Musk being his usual controversial self. Still, with 2021 coming to a close, it’s time to stop looking back and start looking forward. So here’s what you can likely expect from Tesla over the course of 2022.
The launch of the Cybertruck
With the likes of the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV already hitting the roads, the age of the electric truck is finally upon us. Tesla was set to join them before the end of 2021, but the company’s penchant for delays means the Cybertruck won’t be arriving until sometime in late 2022.
But the Cybertruck isn’t an ordinary electric truck with a big battery and powerful motors. It has those, but it also has an angled steel exoskeleton instead of your usual car frame. The Cybertruck isn’t indestructible, but it does mean it’s a heck of a lot stronger than your normal car. As far as gimmicks go, the ability to withstand 9mm rounds and sledgehammers is a pretty good one.
Whether the Cybertruck is successful or not is another matter, and even Elon Musk has admitted its bonkers design might put people off. Still, with the cancelation of the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus, and further delays to the second generation Tesla Roadster, the Cybertruck looks to be Tesla’s only major launch of 2022.
A new age of electric hauling?
Head out on the roads and chances are you’ll see a hefty number of electric cars. More than you're used to at any rate, and a good percentage of those EVs will be made by Tesla. But all those semi trucks hauling stuff across the country are still running on fossil fuels. 2022 looks to be the year Tesla will contribute to changing that.
The Tesla Semi was first announced back in 2017, but so far hasn’t actually hit the roads in any meaningful way. While Elon Musk says that production on the Semi may now slip into 2023, PespiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta is a little more optimistic claiming the company would receive its first Tesla Semi delivery before the end of 2021. The company also got permission to install the high-powered Tesla Megacharger at one of its facilities in Modesto, California.
It’s going to be a while before electric semi trucks really take off, and Tesla isn’t the only company with plans to make it happen. However, the fact the Tesla Semi is just a hair's-breadth away, suggests you may start seeing them out on the road next year. Especially if you live within 400 miles of Modesto.
New upgrades and more features
While the Cybertruck is the only Tesla car currently slated to launch in the next 12 months, we can be sure the automaker’s existing portfolio will be getting some significant upgrades throughout 2022; some of those upgrades, heading for the Model 3 and Model Y have already leaked.
The fact is Tesla can’t afford to stand still. The company has a reputation for pushing boundaries and changing cars to offer a uniquely Tesla experience, for better or worse; whether that’s adding video games to the infotainment system, or the infamous yoke steering wheel. Increased competition means that it's more important than ever for Tesla to keep digging deep in innovations.
Chip shortage or not, we can reasonably expect Tesla to make some serious changes. That includes smaller tweaks to performance, improvements to cars running the Full Self Driving Autopilot beta, and more significant upgrades to upcoming cars. It’s hard to say what they’ll be, especially on the higher end Model S and Model X cars, but mark my words they will be coming.
More delays and more price hikes
As unfortunate as it is to see, Tesla’s prices slowly creeping upwards over 2021. And we shouldn’t expect that to end in 2022. The tech industry is in a precarious position right now, thanks to the global chip shortage and other COVID-influenced delays to the supply chain. Tesla has proven that it’s not immune to those problems, and that’s a big part of why its prices have been creeping up.
But the COVID-19 virus has proven it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and the chip shortages are expected to last well into 2023. So the problems Tesla has already experienced are likely to continue, potentially getting even worse.
How that problem will manifest itself is anyone’s guess, and that’ll all be up to Tesla. But we can reasonably expect that the automaker will continue to raise prices to counteract the supply chain issues, with further delays of its upcoming cars certainly not off the table. After all, Tesla has been infamous for its delays even before the pandemic.
One feature that's already getting a price hike is Tesla's Full Self Driving software. It's going from $10,000 to $12,000, according to Elon Musk.
Let’s just hope the automaker doesn’t continue delivering cars without certain components, like USB ports and wireless chargers, before giving people warning first.
Ten years ago Tesla was the only automaker taking electric cars seriously. These days just about every automaker either sells, or is planning to sell electric cars. Plenty of those cars are due in 2022, with luxury features that give Tesla a run for its money. Whether that’s advances in driver autonomy, faster recharging capabilities, or range that come close to giving the Model S a run for its money.
Some of those cars are proving to be incredibly popular as well, like the Ford F-150 Lightning. Ford received so many reservations for its electric truck that it had to stop taking them. 2022 is going to mark the year where Tesla is going to have to step up and start taking the rest of the electric car industry seriously.
As popular and appealing Tesla’s cars may be, they’re not perfect. Tesla still has some trouble with build quality, the prices keep increasing, and its reputation is being dogged by high-profile incidents involving Autopilot. Not to mention the controversial design choices that seemingly come from CEO Elon Musk, like the Model S and X’s yoke steering.
Reputation and brand recognition can go a long way when there’s little to no competition. But that is no longer the case for EVs. So Tesla needs to make sure not to ignore the problem until it’s too late.
Even more car announcements
As far as we know Tesla only has one car due to be released in 2022. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t have plenty more to announce throughout the year — especially as competition from other automakers revs up.
Earlier this year we got the announcement that Tesla was developing a smaller hatchback car, and aiming for a $25,000 price tag. While that EV isn’t due to arrive until 2023 at the absolutely earliest, it does mean Tesla could have some more surprise announcements in the pipeline for 2022.
We could conceivably see more powerful versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in the near future. The Model S and Model X both have ‘Plaid’ powertrains, and it's not unreasonable to suggest that something similar could happen to Tesla’s cheaper cars. But perhaps not quite on the same level, considering how expensive the Plaid variants are.
It would be nice to see the standard range Model Y return, after it was unceremoniously scrapped for having under 250 miles of range. A drop in the crossover SUV’s price from the $58,990 it is right now, would also be appreciated. Or it could be something completely different.
But with the electric car industry growing, especially in the U.S., we would be shocked if Tesla went another 12 months without announcing something new — delays or not.


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Seeking shelter from the US-China trade war and lured by a largely coronavirus-free environment, European companies are pouring money into Taiwan’s technology and renewable energy sectors.
Even as supply chains around the world have been disrupted or ground to a halt, Taiwan’s successful management of the pandemic has meant it is among the few global economies that have not fallen sharply.
Factories have kept running at full speed
, meaning European firms are now increasingly looking to partner with Taiwanese firms in complementary sections, officials from Taiwan and several European countries said this week at a well-attended European Union-Taiwan investment conference.


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Alison Crowley, senior account executive, Clarion Communications
How PR campaigns are evaluated is changing as quickly as new social media groups are being dubbed ‘the Next Facebook’. With the arrival of the likes of Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest, traditional models for evaluating the success of an entire PR campaign are proving insufficient in dealing with the wide variety of digital coverage with which modern PR campaigns are generating i.e. ‘Likes’, ‘Retweets’, ‘Followers’ and ‘Repins’.
Nothing is more infuriating than seeing a campaign trend on Twitter or the number of followers of a brand’s Facebook page skyrocket - and then not being able to evaluate its success without an industry standard. Take McDonald’s for example: most will say its #McDStories was a complete disaster - but having trended on Twitter for so long and received international attention, do these results change things? Before an industry standard can be set, us PR professionals cannot allow all our brainstorming, pitching, constant updating, deadline setting and coverage achieving to go to waste - we must use other methods to evaluate this online success rather than just ‘multiplying by three’.
Many have recommended a variety of tools: making use of analytics (Google or otherwise), measuring customer interaction, measuring influence through Klout, measuring traffic flow to sites and pages and most important of all, measuring call to action. It seems it’s only a matter of time before there’s an online media evaluation tool which can measure the total impact of a full social media campaign. Fingers crossed for our sakes.


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(Beyond Pesticides, June 30, 2009) How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? In Food, Inc., producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry — an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers, and our own environment.
The movie reveals how a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants. The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. But, the film asks, at what cost?
Cattle are given feed that their bodies are not biologically designed to digest, resulting in new strains of E. coli bacteria, which sickens roughly 73,000 Americans annually. And because of the high proliferation of processed foods derived from corn, Americans are facing epidemic levels of diabetes among adults and alarming increases in obesity, especially among children. All of this is happening right under the noses of our government’s regulatory agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Adminnistration (FDA). The film exposes a “revolving door” of executives from giant food corporations in and out of Washington D.C. that has resulted in a lack of oversight and illuminates how this dysfunctional political system often operates at the expense of the American consumer.
In the nation’s heartland, farmers are afraid to talk about what’s happening to the nation’s food supply for fear of retaliation and lawsuits from giant corporations. Our laws today are such that corporations are allowed to patent seeds for crops. As a result, Monsanto, the chemical company that was one of the major manufacturers of Agent Orange and DDT — in a span of 10 years — has landed its patented gene in 90% of the nation’s soybean seeds. Farmers are now forbidden to save and reuse these seeds and must instead buy new seed from Monsanto each season. (These “Roundup Ready” soybeans are genetically engineered (GE) to resist Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, and the resulting increased pesticide use has led to weed resistance.)
Armed with a team of employees dedicated to enforcing their seed patents, Monsanto spends millions every year to investigate and sue farmers – many of whom are financially unable to fight the corporation. Such legal actions have led the state of California to pass a law protecting farmers whose fields are unknowingly contaminated by GE crops.
Food, Inc. also introduces us to courageous people who refuse to helplessly stand by and do nothing. Some, like Stonyfield Farm’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin, are finding ways to work inside and outside the system to improve the quality of our food. Others are brave men and women who have chosen to speak out, such as chicken farmer Carole Morison, seed cleaner Moe Parr and food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk. Their stories, both heartbreaking and heroic, serve to demonstrate the level of humanity and commitment it takes to fight the corporations that control the food industry.
The emphasis of Food Inc. does not center on pesticide use, but it is easy to see how pesticides fit into industrial food production and the problems this film documents. The implications created by a mass-production system seem infinite: increased reliance on glyphosate to control weeds in monocultural GE corn and soybean fields; insecticides to control insects around densely packed feedlots; exposure to farmworkers who lack legal protection; and dietary exposure to a public that does not know the extent to which pesticides are used on much of their food.
It’s important to note that the filmmakers attempted to interview representatives from Monsanto, Tyson, Perdue and Smithfield, but they all declined. Food, Inc. illustrates the dangers of a food system controlled by powerful corporations that don’t want you to see, to think about or to criticize how our food is made. The film reveals how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock to feed ourselves and our families has become. But, it also emphasizes that despite what appears to be at times a hopeless situation, each of us still has the ability to vote on this issue every day — at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Producer Elise Pearlstein said, “I hope people will want to be more engaged in the process of eating and shopping for food. We have learned that there are a lot of different fronts to fight on this one, and people can see what most resonates with them. Maybe it’s really just “voting with their forks” — eating less meat, buying different food, buying from companies they feel good about, going to farmers markets. People can try to find a CSA — community supported agriculture — where you buy a share in a farm and get local food all year. That really helps support farmers and you get fresh, seasonal food. On the local political level, people can work on food access issues, like getting more markets into low income communities, getting better lunch programs in schools, trying to get sodas out of schools. And on a national level, we’ve learned that reforming the Farm Bill would have a huge influence on our food system. It requires some education, but it is something we should care about.”
For more information, visit Beyond Pesticides’ organic food program page.


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Wine Spectator: Tariffs On European Wines Never Went AwayJune 25, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic may have impacted large portions of American life in recent months, but it didn’t pause the tariffs the Trump administration imposed on many European wines last year. Now those tariffs are up for review again. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) begins accepting public comments on the tariffs on June 26, giving members of the wine trade and consumers a chance to speak up.
The odds of the tariffs being lifted do not look good, and it’s possible the White House could raise them. Negotiations with the European Union over subsidies to Airbus, the cause of the tariff fight, have broken down. What’s more, the USTR has begun a separate investigation into a dispute with Italy, Spain, and other nations that could potentially lead to additional tariffs.
Wine importers, retailers and sommeliers loudly spoke out against the tariffs. “The retaliatory tariffs on wine do significantly more damage to U.S. businesses than to E.U. businesses,” said Ben Aneff, managing partner of Tribeca Wine Merchants and current president of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA). Many European vintners can find other markets for their wines. American companies that sell wine don’t have that luxury. “This makes the tariffs on wine incredibly ineffective.” Wine Spectator has a full report.—Mitch FrankSubscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.


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The dismantling of the informal cigarette market in our country constitutes one of the priorities of the Independent Authority of Public Revenue (AADE), since the illicit trade in cigarettes is an important power in the black market. This is what the head of AADE G. Pitsilis said while speaking at a conference on the illegal trade of cigarettes, hosted by the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce. He announced reforms on the organizational structure of the audit services, creating a new service, EYTE (Executive Authority for Customs Controls), which will be set in force in the beginning of 2020 and will include and coordinate all Mobile Control Units.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Finance, Tax Policy and Public Affairs Apostolos Vessiropoulos emphasized the need for the citizens to be informed and understand the issue of cigarette smuggling, which poses risks for themselves as well. He mentioned some early actions, such as placing a scanner on the main entrances of the country, etc.
According to KPMG’s study “Stella” on the consumption of illegal cigarettes in the EU, in 2018 a total of 3.9 billion illegal cigarettes were consumed in the country, of which 1.5 billion were counterfeit. The upward trend that is recorded is leading to significant lost revenue for the Government of 700 – approximately – millions.
Increased raids on illegal factories in 2018 show a change in the way criminal organizations operate, as the study reports a shift from importing illegal products to the production becoming domestic.
Iakovos Kargarotos, Vice-President of Papastratos Group, talked about the need for a national plan to combat the problem, underlining the importance of the public and private sector in Greece developing alliances and partnerships, as well as international alliances.
G. Pitsilis stressed that the worldwide tax-free movement and trafficking of counterfeit tobacco products, as well as the underlying informal economy in general, constitute an important part of the “shadow”, “black” economy, from which funds are raised and directed towards financing organized international criminal networks. He went on to announce an AADE campaign aimed to raise awareness regarding the negative effects of counterfeit cigarettes. “Counterfeit products are made by extremely harmful substances. Both the raw materials used, as well as the conditions of manufacture, packaging and transport of the products are completely inappropriate”, he added. /ibna


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‘Tis the season to be jolly—except you are attempting to purchase a aircraft ticket.
Hovering inflation and pent-up demand after pandemic-era journey restrictions are affecting flight costs for the remainder of the 12 months—simply as folks within the U.S. gear as much as journey for the Thanksgiving vacation.
A round-trip ticket for a home flight within the week main as much as the Thanksgiving vacation now prices $398, up 30% from 2021 and 33% from 2019 costs, based on knowledge from Hopper Inc., a cell journey utility. And round-trip fares for worldwide locations throughout the similar time interval are actually averaging $1,033, which is 17% increased than in 2021 and 29% above 2019 costs.
There are a number of completely different causes for costly aircraft fares this 12 months, Hopper’s lead economist Hayley Berg advised Fortune, together with jet gas costs, increased labor prices, and a extra inflexible journey demand.
Jet gas costs have surged practically 90% in comparison with 2019 ranges, and Berg estimates that about 10% of that improve is being handed on to vacationers. Vacationers are additionally extra more likely to decide to touring residence to see their households, in comparison with a summer time journey the place they may have extra leeway to choose their journey dates.
“We now have an enormous quantity of people that wish to e book tickets for Thanksgiving and for Christmas,” she mentioned.
Many Individuals are going through these increased costs firsthand because the nation will get prepared for its busiest journey season since COVID hit the U.S. in early 2020.
Between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27, practically 4.5 million individuals are anticipated to fly for Thanksgiving this 12 months, based on journey group AAA. That’s 8% increased than 2021, and simply 1% in need of journey numbers for 2019.
Two million vacationers have handed via Transportation Safety Administration checkpoints every day since Nov. 17. The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) expects to display 2.5 million passengers on the Sunday of this week, following Thanksgiving celebrations. That quantity could be increased than 2021 ranges, however nonetheless down from a historic excessive of two.9 million in 2019, based on the company.
So though inflation is forcing many Individuals to rethink their spending habits, it appears vacationers will not be holding again on their journey plans.
“All the analysis that we now have executed, and we now have seen coming from different business leaders, is that households are buying and selling out bills on shopper items for bills on journey as they tighten their funds,” Berg mentioned.
AAA predicts that 2022 would be the third busiest 12 months of Thanksgiving journey since 2000.
Our new weekly Influence Report publication will look at how ESG information and traits are shaping the roles and tasks of right this moment’s executives—and the way they will greatest navigate these challenges. Subscribe right here.
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A new right to repair law in New York requires manufacturers of original equipment to provide parts, schematics, and tools to independent repair providers & consumers. The S4104 adds to the Digital Fair Repair Act that both parties supported. Fifty-one senators in a virtual session voted for the motion, and 12 voted against the motion.
There is still some time before the new bill becomes law. Firstly, it has to win the lawmaker’s approval from the New York State Assembly, looking at its version of bill A7006.
At the committee stage, bill A7006 will go through in the committee meeting on January 6th, 2022. Still a bill, the current senate approval is seen as a win for the right-to-repair community that has been victorious in the previous months.
A new right to repair law in New York requires manufacturers of original equipment to provide parts, schematics, and tools to independent repair providers & consumers.
This win is big for consumers and independent small repair businesses across the state, the lower-income communities, and every person who wants to repair their devices. To get a clearer picture, have a look at the right to repair laws by state.
In November 2020, voters in Massachusetts passed the right-to-repair bill into law. The bill affecting the automotive sector is coming to effect in January 2020. So, independent automotive repair shops and car owners will have access to their car’s telemetric systems. This step will make it possible for people to diagnose and fix any issue with their vehicles. Here are details about the right to repair law in Massachusetts.
The automotive industry spent millions on marketing campaigns that did not make an impact as they expected. All their flashy ads communicated one central message, “hackers will attach your vehicles.”
New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania are among the 25 states considering the Right to repair laws. In addition, states like Kansas, Vermont, and Arkansas are considering agricultural equipment right-to-repair laws.
In November 2020, voters in Massachusetts passed the right-to-repair bill into law.
The vote by the New York Senate communicates that other states discussing the issue can also vote to pass the popular bill into law. Once the right-to-repair bill becomes law, it will force manufacturers to structure an industry-wide standard of practice.
Ideally, one of the biggest challenges facing passing the right-to-repair bill into law is the number and types of companies campaigning against it. As we have already mentioned, these companies spent millions of dollars to prevent passing the right-to-repair bill into law. The exciting thing is that despite these efforts, there is massive optimism that this bill will be law in a few months.
What is the Right to repair cover?
The Right to repair law only covers several electronics. Currently, the legislation covers washing machines, dishwashers, washer-dryer, Tv, electronic displays, and refrigeration appliances.
How many states have repair laws?
Since the first bill in 2014, 32 states have been working on the “Right to Repair” bill.
Who began the Right to repair bill?
U.S Representative Joe Morelle of New York was the first to raise the issue in Congress.
STAT: Apple’s website mentions that the company charges $300 to replace the screen of an iPhone. (source)


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Ubisoft has announced the release dates for Virtual Reality titles Eagle Flight,Werewolves Within, and Star Trek: Bridge Crew. All three titles will be coming to PlayStationVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive starting this October.
Eagle Flight, developed by FunHouse, a division of Ubisoft Montreal, sends players to the skies of Paris where as an eagle they will soar over the historic city and its iconic landmarks. Playable in single player and in the heart-pumping multiplayer “Capture the Prey” mode, players will feel the true sensation and exhilaration of flight. Eagle Flight will be released on Oculus Rift beginning October 18, PlayStationVR beginning November 8, 2016 and HTC Vive beginning December 20th, 2016.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew will see you ascend to the stars, where no one has gone before in virtual reality, with Star Trek: Bridge Crew. Developed by Red Storm Entertainment, players will be beamed right into the action of a Starfleet ship as a member of the Federation, exploring space with a crew or solo as Captain. Star Trek: Bridge Crew was designed exclusively for VR, capitalizing on the powerful sense of social presence possible through virtual reality. It will be available on all three platforms beginning November 29th, 2016.
Or be transported to the medieval village of Gallowston in Werewolves Within, a game of social deduction that brings the competitive fun of game night with friends to virtual reality. Developed by Red Storm Entertainment, a Ubisoft Studio, uncover the werewolves that have been terrorizing the townsfolk through fast-paced games with five to eight players. No two games are the same–one round you could be a villager, pleading your case for innocence, and the next round you could be a werewolf, lying your way to a win. Werewolves Within will be released on all major VR platforms beginning December 6, 2016.
Eagle Flight and Star Trek: Bridge Crew will be available on PlayStationVR in retail versions a week after their digital releases.
Virtual reality will also be introduced into the arcade-racing universe of TrackMania Turbo. Thanks to a free patch, players will be able to enjoy the game on PlayStationVR beginning November 8th, 2016.
With its lineup of VR titles set for release this fall, Ubisoft believes in the strong potential of Virtual reality to redefine social gaming with a unique sense of reality. Star Trek™: Bridge Crew, Werewolves Within and Eagle Flight Ubisoft’s recent partnership with VR film company, SpectreVision, are its latest ventures in the emerging technology.


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A relationship with esports and gaming business Wisdom Gaming has been announced by United Esports, a North American esports media and marketing organization.
Consequently, across all of Wisdom Gaming’s assets, including the Minnesota Varsity League, the two parties will provide “unparalleled experiences” (MNVL).
United Esports, a newly founded esports and gaming firm, has made a name for itself. The firm has recently worked with companies, including Premier League football team Manchester City and game developer and publisher Konami.
The relationship allows United Esports to “exploit” its position to deliver B2-B and B2C activations across numerous sectors of the gaming and esports business, in addition to broadening Wisdom’s marketing portfolio.
The cooperation was easy for United Esports to work with Wisdom Gaming, according to Felix LaHaye, founder and CEO of United Esports.
“Wisdom is best in class for producing innovative gaming experiences with highly engaged audiences. We are honoured to be collaborating with some of the best brains in the field as they continue to transform it.


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New Jersey of Team India: BCCI unveils Team India's new Billion Cheers Jersey- Know all about it here
BCCI has unveiled the new jersey of Team India- Billion Cheers Jersey- ahead of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. Know the idea behind the new Team India jersey.
New Jersey of Team India: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on October 13, 2021 unveiled the new jersey of the Indian men's cricket team ahead of the upcoming T20 Cricket World Cup.
The BCCI along with MPL Sports unveiled the new Team India jersey on social media handles. MPL Sports is the official kit sponsor of the Indian cricket team unveiled the jersey on their social media handles.
BCCI tweeted, "presenting the Billion Cheers Jersey! The patterns on the jersey are inspired by the billion cheers of the fans."
Presenting the Billion Cheers Jersey!— BCCI (@BCCI) October 13, 2021
The patterns on the jersey are inspired by the billion cheers of the fans.
Get ready to #ShowYourGame @mpl_sport.
Buy your jersey now on https://t.co/u3GYA2wIg1#MPLSports #BillionCheersJersey pic.twitter.com/XWbZhgjBd2
New Jersey of Team India
•The new jersey of Team India represents a billion cheers of fans of Team India.
•It is made of polyester jacquard fabric and is designed for comfort.
•It has super-fast moisture absorbent and quick-drying qualities.
When will Team India wear the new jersey?
The Indian men's cricket team will wear the new jersey in the ICC T20 World Cup, the first cricket world cup after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new jersey of Team India will also be worn by the men's cricket team in all limited-over cricket matches played after that.
This is the first time in Indian cricket history that fans have been memorialised on a jersey. The new jersey of the Team portrays the chants and cheers of fans through unique soundwave patterns. The new Team India jersey honours the unwavering support of the fans and serves as a beacon of encouragement for Team India ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The Billion Cheers Jersey - The pattern on the jersey is inspired by the cheers of a billion fans. See what the Indian Cricketers have to say about the new Team India jersey #BillionCheersIndianJersey #IndianCricketTeam #TeamIndia Order now https://t.co/BiweYY981p pic.twitter.com/UjRsYc20gJ— MPL Sports (@mpl_sport) October 13, 2021
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said on October 13, 2021 that the best way to celebrate fans' excitement and energy is through the jersey for the Indian men's team launched ahead of the T20 World Cup.
T20 World Cup
The T20 World Cup will begin with the Round 1 Group B clash between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 17. The other two teams of the group- Scotland and Bangladesh will clash in the evening match.
The Group A teams- the Netherlands, Ireland, Namibia and Sri Lanka will clash in Abu Dhabi the next day and run till October 22nd.
The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Super 12 stage, which will begin on October 23rd.The first semi-final will start on November 10th in Abu Dhabi and the second will be hosted by Dubai on November 11. The T20 World Cup final will take place in Dubai on November 14, 2021.


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Xperia X Compact, that same title has officially popped up on Sony's website as well, indicating that an announcement might be near.
Not only that, but Sony's Czech website is also listing another upcoming handset - an Xperia XZ - probably the same one we've been seeing for weeks now under the XR moniker. Our dirty understanding of the Czech language can only grasp that Sony has subtitled the word "photography" under the XZ, and "pictures without blur" under X Compact, so maybe there will be emphasis on the camera prowess of those two, and even optical image stabilization could be in store for the first time in the Xperia line.
Z5 Compact - was a true powerhouse for its time, with a Snapdragon 810 chipset and all, so a Snapdragon 820 might make a cameo in the X Compact this time. Other than that, from the purported leaked images of XZ and X Compact, it seems that they are not straying away from Sony's Android phones design language that has been a staple in its portfolio for the last few years now. Sony will hold a keynote event at the IFA 2016 expo next week, as well as press briefings for us, so maybe both phones will be revealed very soon, and we will relay the details to you as they happen on stage.Now, what other specs will be inside, remains to be seen, but let's not forget that the last munchkin from Sony - the


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Rumor: Redfall’s release has been delayed again
Acording to rumors, the cooperative vampire shooter Redfall has been postponed again: instead of March 2023, the game is now going to be released only in May.
What is the reason for the next delaying is unknown, but it is likely that Arkane Studios needed more time to test and finalize the project. Apparently, the developers are trying to release the most polished product to justify the “premium” price: in early December, it became known that Redfall would cost $70.
Redfall is being developed for Xbox Series and PC. The shooter will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one.


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Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said Bangladesh has set a $51-billion export target for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
“The government has set the target considering all the national and international issues. Of the target, 43.50 billion US dollars will come from goods’ exports while 7.50 billion US dollars from the services sector,” he said while speaking at a virtual press briefing at the conference room of his ministry on Tuesday.
This year, the minister said, the government has set a target to achieve a 12.37% export growth. “If the current export trend continues, then it’ll be possible to achieve the target.”
Besides, Tipu said, the government has taken steps to enlarge the export basket and expand the market. To give a boost to the export, the exporters and those related in export should work sincerely amid this Covid-19 pandemic.
More importantly, he said, a business-friendly government is working with utmost sincerity to increase exports and a number of projects have been taken to make the export-oriented sector more efficient, he said.
Apart from the readymade garments, there is a huge possibility of exporting light engineering, ICT, leather, leather goods, plastic and agricultural products of Bangladesh and, the ministry is implementing a project with financial support from the World Bank to make the sectors stronger, the minister added.
Last year, the government had set a target to achieve a 48-billion US dollar export target and the country has achieved 45.39 billion US dollars of it.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and Vice Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) AHM Ahsan also spoke at the programme.
Source: United News of Bangladesh


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There’s a new wedding dress trend, and it might catch some brides-to-be off-guard. Coined “the sexy bride look” by The New York Times, the publication states that “a growing number of wedding dresses have taken on a distinctly Mediterranean flavor: low backs that skim the derrière, deep navel-revealing necklines and a shocking amount of sheer fabric.”
To get the scoop on the trend, they consulted the owner and namesake of prestigious New York bridal salon Mark Ingram Atelier, who says that the sultry bride has become the rising norm. He credits celebrities like Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian (see: Met Gala 2015), who often wear sheer gowns with strategically placed beading on the red carpet. He says, “Bridal has become a red carpet moment, and the gowns reveal so much more.” Ingram cites Isreal- and Meditteranean-based designers as those responsible for furthering the trend, with Christos Costarellos, Zuhair Murad, and Elie Saab (among others) as creators of red carpet–inspired bridal designs. He adds that classic American designers like Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta have been slower to jump on board.
Given that sheer fabrics and boudoir are major trends this spring, we can’t say that the sexy bride look comes as a surprise. But with bridal styles changing every year, Ingram cautions that the risqué bridal look may not be around for long. Our suggestion? If you love the alluring bridal look, choose a dress that incorporates hints of it so that your chosen gown still appears relevant and classic when you look back at the photos years from now.
Shop a few of our favorite sultry gowns below!
What’s your stance on the sultry bride trend? Tell us in the comments!
Opening Image: Vogue


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A new Tacoma health spa is offering locals a chance to try out floatation therapy, one of the latest trends for alternative pain relief and holistic stress relief. Northwest Float Center is opening its doors for the first time on the weekend of October 25-27. The Grand Opening will be accompanied by a number of special promotional offers as well as plenty of opportunities to learn more about floatation therapy.
Owners Kriss Brooks and Alex Ziegler will spend the inaugural weekend leading tours of the facility that will showcase their float tanks. In addition, Brooks and Ziegler will be on hand to answer any questions about what floatation therapy is and why people float. Floatation therapy is known for its ability to provide incredible relief from pain, stress, and even chronic diseases, so Northwest Float Center hopes to provide a valuable service to the Tacoma community.
Perhaps the most exciting promotion is the chance to gain a lifetime discount by becoming one of the first 100 members at the float center. New members that are able to obtain this deal can reduce the price of each 75-minute float session from $68 to as low as $24. Those who acquire one of these packages also gain a variety of other benefits, including free floats, 20% off of all merchandise, and access to monthly members-only giveaways.
During the Grand Opening, Northwest Float Center will provide a $10 discount to anyone who signs up for a float session. In addition, the Tacoma health spa will raffle off free floats and give away merchandise throughout the weekend. Although the Grand Opening celebration begins on October 25th, Tacoma residents are invited to begin signing up for float sessions and memberships on Northwest Float Center’s website starting on October 24th.
Northwest Float Center will offer residents of Tacoma the opportunity to practice floatation therapy, an alternative form of relief from pain and stress that relies on sensory deprivation. Owners Kriss Brooks and Alex Ziegler believe that floating allows busy people a chance to cut out distractions during a float session so that they can relax and heal.


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PVR Limited, India’s largest cinema exhibition company, and esports company Nodwin Gaming have announced a new partnership for India’s first in-cinema esports live tournaments together, beginning with Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), the version of PUBG exclusively for India.
Gamers and gaming enthusiasts across India will now be able to participate in online esports cups and in-cinema tournaments with separate prize pools for each city. This initiative is expected to fast track esports entertainment’s growth trajectory in India by combining the appeal of esports gaming with the magic of big screen experience.
PVR has launched a pilot in four cities – Gurugram, Indore, Hyderabad and Mumbai – where it will live stream the competition of BGMI. The quarter-final, semi-final and finals of the cups, in each participating city, will be broadcast in selected PVR Cinemas, along with live streams on various digital platforms, including Nodwin Facebook and Youtube pages, PVR’s website and mobile app.
In China, in-cinema esports is already well established. In contrast to mainstream professional sports, in lieu of athletic equipment, esports players typically come geared with a gaming PC rig that boasts specialized keyboards, gaming mice, graphic cards, and other helpful gadgets.
Nodwin Gaming MD & Co-Founder Akshat Rathee said: “Our association with PVR Cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. Esports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring the action to the silver screen.”
PVR currently has a cinema circuit comprising 849 screens in 72 cities of India and Sri Lanka.


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The Residence Inn by Marriott Portland-Vancouver is now open in Vancouver, Washington, after some delays. The hotel, one of nine hotels Asian American owned Evergreen Hospitality plans to develop and manage in Vancouver and Portland, Oregon, was originally scheduled to open in November.
The new 87-suite upscale extended-stay hotel features an indoor pool and an outdoor barbeque pit. Evergreen next plans to build a 113-room Hyatt Place in downtown Vancouver. It expects to break ground early next year. It is also building hotels in Idaho and Nevada.
Alkesh Patel is founder, chairman and CEO of Evergreen Hospitality of Battle Ground, Washington. A former AAHOA chairman, Patel established Evergreen Hospitality with Mekund “Bobby” Patel in 2015 after the pair sold their hotel and commercial real estate assets and formed the company dedicated to new hotel development and management.
Bobby Patel is Evergreen’s CFO based in Atlanta.


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Categories Analysis, Health Care
Amarin (AMRN) Q2 2020 earnings call: Focus was mainly on VASCEPA litigation
Amarin (NASDAQ: AMRN) reported second quarter 2020 results yesterday. During the earnings conference call, the management and the analysts discussed mainly the ongoing VASCEPA litigation. Let’s see the key points from Amarin’s earnings call
Amarin’s total revenue in the second quarter increased by 34% to $135.3 million but failed to meet Street’s targets. Net product revenue growth of 33% in the quarter was fuelled by the higher VASCEPA sales and an increase in VASCEPA selling price in the US.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported a profit of $4.4 million or 1 cent per share, which was better than the net loss of $1.8 million or 1 cent per share reported in prior-year quarter. Adjusted EPS of 2 cents topped the market’s views.
Beginning in mid-March 2020, Amarin direct promotion of VASCEPA to healthcare professionals got limited due to social distancing practices associated with COVID-19 and by patients electing to forego visiting their doctors for non-urgent medical examinations. While COVID-19 continues to impact the promotion of VASCEPA, there were early signs of improvement.
Last month, Amarin launched its first television-based promotion of VASCEPA. Regarding regulatory review of VASCEPA in Europe, COVID-19 appears to have modestly slowed certain aspects of the review with the overall timeline for the review being completed by the EMA shifting from what was previously estimated as late 2020 into the current estimate of early 2021.
During the Q2 earnings conference call, CEO John Thero mainly discussed about VASCEPA litigation and the possible outcomes. Analysts also asked questions mostly about VASCEPA litigation.
This patent litigation is in the US only and it pertains to the rights to market and sell VASCEPA for its first FDA approved indication, the indication for lowering triglyceride levels in patients with very high triglyceride levels. Amarin stated that if VASCEPA becomes generic, there will be less potential benefits.
Given the relatively high manufacturing costs and the affordable pricing Amarin has used for VASCEPA, if VASCEPA becomes a generic drug in the US, the company anticipates that little, if any money, is likely to be saved by patients or by insurance companies from the availability of a generic version of VASCEPA.
The oral hearing is scheduled for September 2, 2020. Amarin anticipates Federal Court’s decision to be made public late this year or early in 2021.
Some investors have asked Amarin whether settlement with the generic companies is likely before the Federal Circuit decision. CEO John Thero stated,
“While anything is possible, at this stage, such a settlement is unlikely. As a reminder, a settlement would only be useful to Amarin if it’s settled with both of the two active ANDA litigants on mutually acceptable terms and also gets the district court’s decision vacated. If the district court’s decision is not vacated, our settling with the two generic companies that are litigants in this matter won’t stop other generic companies from seeking to fill the void.”
AMRN stock closed yesterday at $7.03, up 3.84%. Amarin shares have lost 67% of its value since the beginning of this year.
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New Delhi: Car sales in India rose an annual 21% in September for their eighth straight rise, with industry officials expecting continued robust growth as the economy improves and consumer confidence grows.
Festival spending and easier availability of loans buoyed sales, with demand fed by a Rs180 billion ($4-billion) payout to government workers as backpay and bonuses paid to employees ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights.
India is one of two bright spots for the auto industry worldwide, besides China, the world’s largest auto market, where volumes are far larger than in India.
Indian firms sold 129,683 cars during the month, compared with 107,517 units in the year-ago period, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) showed on Tuesday.
Sales have risen 14.8% in the first six months of the fiscal year that began in April, reflecting consumer optimism and the resumption of automobile loans by banks after a halt following the credit freeze late last year.
“Everybody is cautiously optimistic,” Dilip Chenoy, the chief of the automakers’ group told reporters. “The optimism is coming from many factors of the economy that are showing strong recovery.”
“The caution is that it is not yet certain if the global recovery is on steam.”
Next month Siam would revise its current forecast for growth of 5% in passenger vehicle sales for the year to March 2010, Chenoy said, adding that growth could be in double digits if the numbers continued to pan out the way they had.
Sales of trucks and buses rose 6.5% to 45,451 units in September, the third consecutive rise, the data showed. Chenoy said the economy had to improve further before sales picked up in this segment.
Siam has forecast a rise of 7 to 10% in sales of trucks and buses for the full year.
In comparison, car sales grew just 1.3% in 2008-09, while truck and bus sales plunged by a fifth.
Motorcycle sales rose 6.6% to 673,891 units in the month.
In Asian peer China, the country’s biggest automaker, SAIC Motor Corp, became the latest player to say sales were racing ahead, up 47 percent in the first nine months of the year from a year ago.
The strong sales followed similar reports in recent days from most of the Chinese industry’s top players, including Geely Automobile, Dongfeng Automobile and the China units of General Motors and Volkswagen.


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Umar Riaz, a player in the much talked about and much awaited show ‘Bigg Boss 15’, has been charged with fraud. He has been charged with wearing the clothes of a fashion designer. Omar Riaz is one of the most popular members of Bigg Boss 15. Umar Riaz has a huge fan base. He is the brother of ‘Bigg Boss 13’ runner-up Asim Riaz.
According to information received, Faizan Ansari, a resident of Mumbai, has lodged a complaint against Umar Riaz. Faizan is a fashion designer. He has made serious allegations against Umar Riaz. Faizan has alleged that Omar Riya is wearing clothes designed by him. He has filed a case in the local court in Mumbai in this regard.
“Omar Riaz is a popular contestant in Bigg Boss. He often shares his photos on social media wearing different clothes. Photos of the clothes she is wearing are widely shared on social media. But in all this, Umar Riaz’s PR team does not give any credit to Faizan Ansari. I don’t advertise designed clothes, “said fashion designer Faizan Ansari.
“What is special is that Omar Riaz’s PR team is tagging the photo of his clothes on social media under the name of some other brand. It’s all ‘illegal’, “he said. Not only that, Faizan has also called it a ‘fraud’. “Soon I will bring the real character of Umar Riaz before the people. “Even though Omar is a good person, there is a lot of controversy and I will reveal it soon,” he said.
Faizan has also taken to the streets to protest against this. He had taken to the streets carrying a ‘Boycott Umar’ sign in his hand. This photo of him has been shared by many on social media. This photo is going viral. Meanwhile, no explanation has been given by Umar Riaz or his team in this case
The post The fashion designer has lodged a complaint against the famous contestant of ‘Bigg Boss 15’ appeared first on Loksatta.


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Just in time for Earth Day, Kohl’s has offered a snapshot into the progress of its broader commitment to sustainability.
The department store, which released today its annual environmental, social and governance report, announced that it has achieved its waste and recycling goal to divert 85% of waste from landfills. It also shared that 80% of facilities producing its private- and exclusive-label products have completed the Higg Index Environmental Module — a tool used by apparel, footwear and textile companies to measure the impact of their products and services on the environment.
“Despite the challenges of 2020, we continue to operate our company as a retailer of purpose,” CEO Michelle Gass said in a statement. “We continued to illustrate our commitment to the greater good through all of our ESG efforts, including our widely recognized environmental initiatives and our philanthropic support in communities nationwide.”
Kohl’s unveiled its slate of sustainability goals two years ago, when it outlined three key areas of focus: climate action, waste and recycling, as well as sustainable sourcing. These initiatives — guided by the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — have led the retailer to rank in the S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook for the first time in 2021, as well as join the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America listing for the third consecutive year and obtain a leadership level of A- on the nonprofit CDP’s 2020 Climate Change disclosure for the second straight year.
Beyond its eco-commitments, the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based chain has been working to amplify diversity and inclusion within its own workforce. Last year, Kohl’s launched an in-house Diversity Design Council made up of associates from its product development and merchandising teams. It also created a Supplier Diversity team, along with the pledge to double spending among diverse suppliers by 2025, as well as contributed an additional $1 million to five nonprofits that serve diverse communities.
What’s more, amid the COVID-19 health crisis, the company shared that it has raised upwards of $11 million for communities through its Kohl’s Cares program. It has also reached 3.4 million American families through its Health at Home initiatives in partnership with Alliance for a Healthier Generation, plus 4.6 million individuals through its $3 million grant to the Boys and Girls Club of America.


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Link Travel Group has secured two new agencies to join its exclusive buying group, which has been shaking up the industry since its launch in May. Eden Corporate Travel officially started its partnership with Link on September 1, while Travel Beyond Group will commence their membership in early 2023.
Launched less than four months ago as a joint venture between Flight Centre Travel Group, The Goldman Group and Spencer Group of Companies, Link Travel Group has grown from strength to strength, welcoming agencies including Reho Travel, Platinum Travel Group, Mary Rossi Travel and Mosman Travel.
The invitation-only member group says it is “connecting a carefully selected group of leading Australian travel agencies to provide an innovative and compelling offering via travel supply, technology, and business operations.”
Announcing its latest news, General Manager for Link Travel Group Scott Darlow said, “From the start, Link Travel Group identified both Eden Corporate Travel and Travel Beyond Group as exceptional travel businesses, owned and run by highly respected and skilled industry leaders.
“Their objectives align with Link Travel Group’s goals of delivering transparency and greater returns while driving travel industry leadership and success.
“We are delighted to welcome both agencies into the Link family and look forward to building a mutually beneficial partnership over the years to come,” said Darlow.
Andrew Want, Managing Director, spoke about Eden Corporate Travel joining the group, saying, “Being invited to join Link Travel Group is an incredible opportunity for Eden Corporate Travel to align with industry greats.
“Link offers an established, long-term vision that is clear and focused – plus access to technology that makes for a very exciting future.”
Tim Lane, CEO of Travel Beyond Group, which will formally begin its partnership in 2023, said, “Accessing the right content and distribution channels has never been so important. Link Travel Group provides a platform for us to elevate our offering to our customers while allowing our operations to streamline processes and workflows.
“We are excited to join and look forward to helping drive the group forward in the new year,” said Lane.
In addition to bringing his agency on board, Travel Beyond CEO Tim Lane will join Link Travel Group’s Advisory Board. Lane has been selected due to his skills and expertise in various travel specialisations, including sporting, events, entertainment and corporate travel, complementing the existing Advisory Board members’ expertise.
Link’s General Manager, Scott Darlow, said: “Tim has a unique business, and his knowledge, experience and insight into specialist corporate areas of travel will undoubtedly be an asset to our Advisory Board and growing membership.
“I look forward to Tim joining this highly respected panel of travel industry experts and collaborating with him to shape the strategic direction of Link Travel Group.”
For more information, head to www.linktravelgroup.com.au
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Digital transformation in the webscale datacentre industry
In many ways, digital transformation has become a buzzword of our times. Businesses are facing the impending arrival of a completely different way of doing business, one which heavily relies on advanced technologies and collected data to make operations and marketing more efficient and personalized. In their zeal to be first movers in this paradigm shift, companies have started building the infrastructure to create a digital repository of their data, and have begun to call this their ‘digital transformation’.
This, while remarkable, falls well short of the high standard that digital transformation ought to carry. Simply replacing outdated methods of data storage and using new equipment to perform the same function is just converting analogue to digital, which is only a small part of the overall digital transformation process. However, the truly transformative potential of digital transformation is being missed here, and Stuart Nielsen-Marsh, the Director of Public Cloud Strategy at Pulsant, believes that the business world is doing the phrase a major disservice by using it in this fashion.
“Instead of focusing solely on technology, organizations need to take a step back and adopt a more holistic approach to digital transformation that inspires a genuine re-engineering of their business.”
With India’s growing economy giving rise to a vast number of stakeholders and players at the intersection of data and technology, there is much at stake here. IT spending in India is expected to reach USD 87.1 billion this year, of which more than USD 3.1 billion is projected to be on data centre systems alone. More than the money, though, it is the incredible opportunity that digital transformation will bring – if done correctly and covering the entire structure of an organization.
Re-engineering how companies design their data systems
By placing their data in the cloud through a service provider or in an in-house data centre, businesses would have merely scratched the surface of what digital transformation can accomplish. The dataset should be built in a manner which allows business development teams to review the data to determine which clients to pursue. The same dataset could also be evaluated to give insights at varying levels – from indicating which markets and products are more profitable, to providing accurate numbers to project which marketing strategy would yield better returns on their investment.
Bringing data analytics and advanced technology into their existing systems can bring greater value to their digital transformation, leading to a business transformation, as Stuart Nielsen-March recommends.
There is a reason for The Economist to identify data as the new oil; as technology is progressing and more uses for it can be found, data will be the most valuable commercial resource of the upcoming digital era. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are doing incredible things with the data that they have collected over time – and much of their growth and success can be attributed to the use to which they put their data, often several years after it was first collected.
These global technology leaders began small but thought further ahead than their shorter-lived peers. They built open, disaggregated, and modular data centre networks to enjoy the tremendous cost-saving, flexibility, and scalability they provide. By focusing on making the data storage as efficient as possible while ensuring that there was enough scope for future-use and expansion, these companies have increased the speed and reduced the cost of network expansion and modification. This allowed these companies to continually upgrade their systems and operate them more nimbly through integrating automation and provisioning tools.
This mode of data centre design – called Webscale IT – creates a more resilient architecture to support accelerated application delivery and an environment of continuous experimentation. In other words, it allows companies to more fully realize the potential benefits of digital transformation now and leaves scope for greater utility in the future.
The future of data is webscale
As global economies begin their digital transformation, the increasing value of data and its use is likely to make data centres the cornerstone of digital transformation. Much of the digital revolution and technology-led disruption was set up due to an improvement in our ability to store and utilize data. The processing power of computing systems, the capacity of self-learning algorithms, and the potential for data analytics in the commercial world were only truly unlocked once our data storage capacity multiplied greatly in the 1990s. Today, most of the new emerging technologies expected to define and underpin the future of enterprise – AI, computer vision, the cloud, big data, IoT – are being thought of while designing the large data-reliant ecosystem of India’s digital future.
India is already the seventh-largest data centre market in the world, according to Gartner, and is the second-largest, and second-fastest growing, data centre market in the Asia-Pacific region, second only to China. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s recent report in April 2018, India will be a USD 4.5 billion data centre market by 2018 and will reach USD 7 billion by 2020. The country is expected to increase its data centre capacity to 10.9 million square feet by the end of 2018, growing at a CAGR of 19.8 percent between 2008 and 2018.
Companies looking to avail this lucrative opportunity must, therefore, pay attention to their data and its storage in order to stay relevant and competitive in the fast-changing industry landscape. They need an understanding of the options available before them, which can have an immense impact upon their data-driven future. Should they be setting up their own data centres, or should they be relying on a multi-tenant data centre? How should their own centre be designed? Which technology should they be compliant with? Understanding the various technology components of the data centre universe would require some study and networking to understanding the existing state of an industry, the solutions being relied upon by competitors, and looking beyond 2018 to find the right mix to make their digital transformation into the webscale data centre as lucrative as it could possibly be.
Naveen Andrade is General Manager at DatacenterDynamics India.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)