Astaguru receives positive feedback from its first standalone jewelry auction

Astaguru’s ‘Fine Jewellery and Silver’ auction which took place on the 25^th & 26^th of November, 2017 showcased Astaguru’s growth in terms of their diversification and extension of their category portfolio. With a total of 50 lots being included in this edition, which was their first standalone Jewellery & Silver auction the total revenue generated accounted to RS. 4,23,49,902 (US$ 683,064). The highlight of the two day online event was an elegant ‘Two Strand Emerald Necklace’ with an approx. carat weight of 538 that was auctioned for RS. 1, 64, 22,000 (inclusive of buyer’s premium).

The total lots sold ratio was 78% with 39 lots being successfully auctioned while the Silver category had 17 lots and was a white glove sale, with the ‘Silver Nandi’ breaking through the top ten value lot segment as well. The ‘Silver Nandi’ lot was auctioned for RS. 10,03,308 (inclusive of buyer’s premium), with a higher estimate of RS. 4,70,000 the Silver Nandi got sold for an increment of 100% in comparison with its higher estimate value.

“This was our first standalone Fine Jewellery & Silver auction, and we are pleased with the reception it received,” states Tushar Sethi, Director, Astaguru. “We aim to diversify and extend our category portfolio and this has been a great start, going forth we will be hosting one Fine Jewellery & Silver auction on an annual basis.”

Apart from the ease and convenience aspect, the online auction format makes the proceeding edgy, while at the same time enables bidders to make sound decisions considering they have two days to overview and spectate the auction proceedings. The Kala Ghoda based online auction house will be hosting their ‘No Reserve Modern Indian Art’ auction in the month of December, 2017. 

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Government Initiatives for Transforming India: Implications on Business and Society

Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University) Pune inaugurated its 8^th Annual International Research Conference (SIMSARC) on 14^th December 2017. The theme for SIMSARC 2017 is “Government Initiatives for Transforming India: Implications on Business and Society”.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Hon'ble Vice Chairman, NITI Ayog, the Chief Guest for the inaugural function wished SIMS on its 8^th Successful SIMSARC Conference and added that he wishes the young research minds to contribute in transforming India through Govt. Initiatives by means of any suggestions or Ideas. He said Niti Ayog serves as an open action funnel with its mouth opened towards Society that takes Suggestions and ideas from the society and includes all relevant ideas into the system. He said that any research that can be practically implied in the making of country is a powerful research.

Dr. S. B. Mujumdar Hon’ble Chancellor, Symbiosis International Deemed University presiding the event said “If you want to know what Pune thinks tomorrow; you should know what Symbiosis thinks today” He was very impressed by the topic that was chosen for the conference. He said “This shows how vibrant and active is symbiosis for having organised such event. He further added that in order to uplift the country, Govt. and private has to come together and only then the change is possible. We also need to tap the Indian youths as these are Ignited minds that are going to be policy makers for tomorrow.

Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar - Pro Chancellor Symbiosis International Deemed University graced the occasion and while addressing to the audience said “SIMSARC is one of the most prestigious research conference of Symbiosis International Deemed University. This is the 8^th year and it has been continuously improving by the quality of research presentations and papers each year”. She talked about the brightest lot of students that come to Symbiosis through Snap entrance test and highlighted the importance for the Government to work with youngsters in Government Initiatives as these young Minds come from different Culture, background and region and in order to make the Govt initiatives successful it is imperative that we have a blend of Govt. and academics. She said “We now endeavour to connect with Govt. Initiatives”

Dr Rajani Gupte Vice Chancellor, Symbiosis International Deemed University graced the occasion and highlighted the Importance of research especially in uplifting Rural India.

Brig. (Dr.) Rajiv Divekar, Director, SIMS; the conference Chairperson said “You need to transform yourself to transform India. If every Individual citizen transforms oneself India will be transformed and we will get a country, we dream about and want”. He further added “India is poised to transform into a greater better cleaner digital and better governed country through the various Govt. Initiatives taking place”

Dr. Arti Chandani, faculty SIMS and the Conference Convener said “The student Managers at SIMS are highly interested in Research and we as faculty while teaching them also highlight the Importance of research and the impact that they would have if their thoughts will be supported by evidences that they find through research.”

The government has launched an array of initiatives which are aimed at making India a better country to live in. These initiatives are in different fields and the focus of these initiatives is to bring the lower strata of society into the main stream of India It would also foster the growth and development in the business world in terms of: increase in speed, improve in governance and ease of doing business through various technology and techniques. These initiatives present a plethora of opportunities but it comes with a host of challenges and SIMSARC’17 will serve as the platform where the opportunities, challenges and the solutions to meet these challenges will be discussed by the delegates and dignitaries through their research papers publications and case studies.

The objective is to provide a special forum to present and discuss management of business under the umbrella of the 'Government Initiatives for Transforming India' and to facilitate sharing of multidisciplinary research based knowledge amongst researchers, academicians and students. Over 151 papers were reviewed by the double blind peer review out of which 102 papers have been shortlisted to be presented over these 2 days of research meeting.

The two day deliberations are divided into four sub themes revolving around the central theme of the conference. These sub themes are specially selected as they have maximum impact on business and society namely: Energy & Environment, Rural India: Prospects and Challenges, Sustainable Infrastructure: Impetus for Growth, Capacity Building: the future is now.

To give a holistic perspective on each of these subthemes an array of experts from Industry, Govt. , Society and academics such as Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Hon'ble Vice Chairman, NITI Ayog, Mr. Debasish Mallick, DMD, EXIM bank, Dr. Kishore Kulkarni, Metropolitan State university of Denever, USA, Dr. Rajendra Khandekar, Metropolitan State university of Denever, USA, Dr. Ravi Seethamraju, University of Sydney, Australia, Mr. Vinayak Pandit, CEO, PAKO Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Popat Rao Pawar, Hiware Bazar, Shri Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC, Shri Rajendra Jagtap, CEO, Pune Smart City, Mr. Pradeep Lokhande, Founder & CEO, Rural Relations, Shiv Kumar Shukla, Assistant Director, FICCI, will be sharing their knowledge and experience.  

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MVSTF signs MoUs with eminent corporates and philanthropists in presence of CM

·       MVSTF signs key MoUs in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis 

·       Strategic partnership to empower development of rural Maharashtra 

Maharashtra Village Social Transformation Foundation (MVSTF) initiative with a mission to transform 1,000 villages across the state today signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with leading corporates and philanthropists in a bid to empower and push development work in rural part of the state.

   

In an effort to converge the developmental efforts between the Government of Maharashtra and Corporate India, MVSTF enables a public-private partnership in development work at grass root level. The partners provide financial resources to MVSTF, along with domain knowledge and expertise to bring about lasting change in key development areas. The MoUs were signed with the intent of furthering collaboration between the Government of Maharashtra & Corporate India.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries like – Smt. Rajashree Birla, Idea Cellular, Mr. Amit Chandra, ATE Philanthropic Foundation, Investor Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Mr. Radhakrishna Damani, Founder, D-Mart, Mr. Hemendra Kothari, Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mr. Vallabh Bhansali, Enam Financial Consultants Mr. Krishnan Dharmarajan, CDFI &  Mr. John Santosh, BillionLives, and Mr. Ramnath Subramaniam, CEO, MVSTF signed the MoUs on behalf of MVSTF. Also present at the occasion were Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Finance & Planning Forests, Girish Mahajan, Cabinet Minister for Water Resources, Pankaja Mundhe, Minister of Rural Development Women and Child Welfare Vishnu Sawra, Minister Of Tribal Development Mahadeo Jankar, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Development, Ranjit Patil, Minister of State Home(Urban),Urban Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Law & Judiciary, Parliamentary affairs Sumeet Mallik - CS- Government of Maharashtra, Praveen Pardeshi - ACS to CM.

Speaking on this occasion Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “The public and private sector partnership for village transformation brings responsibility towards delivering change in rural Maharashtra. The ability, technology, flexibility, knowledge and management skills of the private sector will change the lives of the people with greater speed by enforcing social schemes of the government.” He further added, “Our main focus is to solve the agrarian crisis through water conservation and tackle the problems of malnourishment in the tribal belt as well as to provide best education in the rural sectors of Maharashtra.”

Speaking at the event Mr. Ramnath Subramanian. CEO MVSTF, said “It is indeed very heartening to have people of great status and caliber as also corporates join hands with Government of Maharashtra, thereby endorsing their confidence on the vision and mission of Honorable Chief Minister. MVSTF looks forward to their active participation and guidance towards the transformation as also their support in roping in more philanthropists and corporate partners.”

Under the guidance and mentorship of Additional Chief Secretary Shri Praveen Pardeshi, VSTF is gaining rapid momentum with 310 villages already covered under the program and close to another 300 villages to be added shortly. His huge hands on experience, passion and commitment has resulted in convergence of various government schemes and innovative interventions by corporates. Secretary Rural Development, Shri Aseem Gupta is a Director on board of MVSTF.

MVSTF is a unique Public-Private Partnership in the country. MVSTF provides opportunity to the youth in the form of Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship (CMRDF) programme. CMRDFs are assigned to a Gram Panchayat and work in close association with local administration to prepare and implement participatory development plans.

In the 1st phase, 143 Fellows have been on-board since April, 2017 to serve 310 Villages across 12 Districts of Maharashtra. The Fellows create community-led and participatory Village Development Plans (VDP), which have been approved in the Gram Sabhas. The Fellows are now working with the local administration and District Mission Council (DMCs) to implement the plans. Several initiatives, including setting up of solar electrification projects, last-mile digital connectivity, promotion of local Self-Help Groups, are being piloted in these villages.

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GST: Myths and Realities |A conclave of practitioners, academicians and administrators on Goods and Service Tax held at Symbiosis School of Economics

Symbiosis School of Economics(SSE) organized a conclave on the Goods and Services tax on 11^th December 2017 at Vishwabhavan auditorium. Dr. Jyoti Chandiramani, Director, Symbiosis School of Economics and Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Symbiosis said, “We have brought together a very diverse panel of industrialists, academicians and administrators to provide a wholesome picture of the impact of GST”. She further added that the early days of tax reforms in India date back to the seventh plan in 1985-86 wherein for the first time in India’s history the Government presented, what was then termed as the “Long Term Fiscal Policy” with the objective of bringing predictability and stability in the economic environment.

The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Kavita Rao, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), Delhi. The program was moderated by Ms. Manasi Phadke, Economist. The other eminent speakers for the day were:

Ms. Shilpa Pophale, Managing Director of Electronica Finance;

Mr. Ranjit Naiknavare , Director, Naiknavare Developers ;

Mr. Raju Kalera, Chief Financial Officer, Zuventus Healthcare Limited;

Mr. Deepak Mohoni, Indian Stock Market Analyst;

Mr. Rajendra Khadilkar, Director, Ameya Management Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

Dr. Kavita Rao opined that while it was early to give a verdict on the impact of GST, she said the abolition of Central Sales tax will help firms streamline their operations. She was critical of the many slabs and exemptions to GST. “Exemptions are apologies of the government for being unable to provide equitable access to goods. Direct benefit transfers or other expenditure methods should be relied on for equity and not a distortion of taxes”, said Dr. Rao.

Ms. Shilpa Pophale who has a large client base of MSMEs said that although there were initial hiccups for the proprietors in this sector, there is an increasing acceptance of the tax. Everyone wants to get into the tax system today learning from Demonetisation and GST.

Mr. Ranjit Naiknavare said that Demonetisation and GST have been double blows to the real estate sector dampening demand in the sector. He said that the initial impact of GST in India has been inflationary quite similar to how it has been in other nations when GST was implemented, but a tax slab of 28% is very high as compared to GST rates elsewhere.

Mr. Raju Kalera shared the experiences of his firm and the tremendous amount of background work that had to be done to get GST compliant which helped them to transition smoothly. He said that the pharmaceutical sector had gained from this unification of taxes.

Mr. Deepak Mohoni said that while demonetization was expected to negatively impact the financial market, it increased liquidity by channeling a lot of money into the sector. And if GST was perceived to bring positive change in the stock market, it at best did nothing. The markets find it hard to react as GST rates are dynamic and its long term impact is not clear.

Mr. Rajendra Khadilkar appreciated how GST reduced the firms’ interface with tax authorities but raised many loopholes that need to be ironed out in the coming days. He particularly mentioned Section 17(5) and Section 42 of GST Act relating to Input Tax Credit as contentious and said that more than 80% of legal disputes regarding GST will be on these two areas.

Ms. Manasi Phadke added that India did face a slowdown of growth but is currently in the recovery phase and the growth rates will only improve in the years to come. While GST will have a positive impact on growth, the magnitude of the impact wouldn’t be too large. She concluded that while many academics are lauding the change, practitioners are having trouble adjusting to it. But in the long run, it will pay out dividends.

A documentary prepared by the students of Symbiosis School of Economics on the perceptions of GST was also screened.

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deAsra Foundation helps entrepreneurs to ‘Go Digital’ and increase the marketing potential of their business.

deAsra, an organization aimed at empowering budding entrepreneurs, recently organized a workshop to help entrepreneurs understand digital media and bring their business online.

deAsra is trying to address the growing need of businesses that are suffering from a loss of customer's who now prefer to buy goods and services online. Statistics show that 65% of people in India did all their festive shopping online. This was a big hit for traditional businesses.

Conducted by Miss. Neha Sarwal, Marketing Head at deAsra Foundation, the workshop was a big success. entrepreneurs were shown how to Go Digital by using social media, online marketplaces such as Amazon and websites to build their businesses.

“Digital marketing is about connecting to your audiences in real time and making them the hero of your activity.” said Miss. Sarwal.

She also added that, “Before entrepreneurs ‘go digital’, they should be prepared with the message they want to send and strategies on how to engage with their prospective customers.”

The other key takeaways shared, covered ways to register and operate social media and online sales channels. Tips and tricks to increase reach and engagement of the audiences. And how to generate leads from online channels and sources. All these takeaways helped the audience walk away with easy and actionable ideas to start and grow their online business activities. Additionally deAsra also shared useful Social Media Marketing Checklists with those present at the workshop which was held at Morya Hall, Pimpri Chinchwad.

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Stuart Kippelman Joins the Advisory Board of SRKay Consulting Group to Help Accelerate its Global Footprint

Florida & Pune, 21^st December 2017: SRKay Consulting Group, a London-headquartered private equity venture of the multi-billion dollar SRK Group, announces the joining of Stuart Kippelman on its advisory board. Stuart is a highly acclaimed business and technology leader in the U.S., and is the former Senior Vice President and Global CIO at Platform Specialty Products, based in Florida.

Stuart has an illustrious track record receiving multiple industry awards including Top 100 CIOs in STEM 2015, Computerworld's 2014 Premier 100 IT Leader Award, and the CIO Top 100 Award in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in areas such as business and ERP transformation, cloud migrations and business intelligence. Stuart has been a WSJ guest columnist, and a featured blogger on Computerworld.com. He is an author, and holds multiple patents in data mining, and business intelligence. As an accomplished speaker, he has frequently presented at many major industry conferences.

Stuart is actively engaged in helping and guiding the next generation of IT leadership and serves as a career mentor both for Columbia University's Executive Master of Science in Technology Management program, as well as the CIO Executive Council Pathways program.

Prior to joining Platform Specialty Products, Stuart was SVP & CIO at Covanta, and held many leadership, technology engineering and research roles of increasing responsibility at Johnson & Johnson.

"With SRKay actively looking at expanding its global footprint with its innovative products & services ventures, we are lucky to have someone like Stuart to guide and advise us to help us succeed in new global locations like the U.S., Australia and Europe with its ventures," said Alok Kumar, Partner and Founder of SRKay Consulting Group.

"Our upcoming data sciences venture will benefit a lot from the knowledge Stuart brings in the field of data sciences with a practical business outlook," said Kesavan Srinivasan, Chief Data Scientist and CTO of SRKay.   

Since its inception in September 2016 by Alok Kumar, a leading name in the technology industry, who started SRKay after his tenure as the Managing Director of Sears India, the group is leaving no stone unturned to build the best leadership team and advisory board. Recently, SRKay announced the appointment of Vinit Teredesai, ex-Global Head of Finance, HSBC GLT's as Advisor Finance & Global Strategy for the group and Stuart adds a technology dimension to the board.

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HAHA with RiteBite Max Protein, Harley Davidson Bikers, and MS Dhoni’s Seven ride for Charity

HAHA (Happy and Healthy Aadmi) is a one of its kind event, multiple companies Ritebite, Seven Island HOG and Rhiti Group’s lifestyle brand Seven and fitness brand Fit 7 have come together to bring in a wishful Christmas 2017. These 100 Bikers from Harley Davidson will ride 200 kms on their bikes to an Old Age Home in Lonavala named Awaas Seva Sadan and spend time with the residents there. Ritebite Max Protein will be organizing this entire event and Seven and Fit 7 are the official event sponsors. While Seven is the official apparel sponsor for the event, team Fit7 will be conducting a warm up fitness session for the   Bikers, followed by post ride fun fitness activities for both riders and the elderly.  Ritebite Max Protein team will give a session on Nutrition and Protein.

There will be a lot of fun activities for the Riders as well as the residents and lots of assured gifts and goodies will be distributed throughout. All the present members will get to munch on some delicious Protein bars and chips from Ritebite Max Protein. Breakfast and refreshment will be served to everyone. To keep up the merry making and Festive vibes of Christmas, themed decoration and Christmas Jingles will seen and heard in plenty with Santa Claus adding to overall fun of the event.

As a token of appreciation and loving gesture, goodbye gifts will be distributed with the Old Age residents as well. The entire event will be well captured with help of notable videographers and will be available to watch on Ritebite Max Protein’s, Seven’s and Fit 7’s official Facebook page.

The spokesperson from these teams have shared their excitement with us and we are looking forward to get more details on this event as well.

While speaking about the association, Chairman and Managing Director of Rhiti Sports, Mr Arun Pandey expressed happiness.

 “Rhiti Charitable Trust is actively involved in CSR initiatives, we look forward to our association with HAHA and making this joyous festival a memory for the old age home people,” said Mr. Pandey.

Also, Mr. Vijay Uttarwar the Managing Director and CEO of Naturell (India) Pvt. Ltd. (RiteBite Max Protein Brand) was ecstatic will talking about this initiative. Mr. Vijay feels that such events bring out the best vibes amongst the participants and create a Healthy and Happy environment which is why the event is named as HAHA.

Ritebite Max Protein – Naturell (India) Pvt. Ltd. is a visionary healthy lifestyle company, today also known as protein company. Naturell’s vision is to provide the finest nature-based products that will help consumers adopt a healthier lifestyle. Your busy hectic life can easily make your health take a back seat, Naturell offers a wide range of Ritebite premium products to keep up your energy levels. Naturell provides nutritious superior quality products that please your taste buds. Ritebite comes in a convenient pack; so wherever you go, whatever you do, we make it a perfect on-the-go snack.

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