HDFC Life launches ‘HDFC Life YoungStars’, a first-of-its-kind digital talent hunt for kids

•        India’s first digital talent hunt for children in association with #fame
•        Lauren Gottlieb, Cyrus Sahukar, Raghav Sachar & Siddharth Mahadevan to mentor the  selected kids

Mumbai, 12th April, 2016– HDFC Life, India’s leading private life insurance company and #fame today announced the launch of India’s first ever digital talent hunt for kids for categories in dancing, singing, musical instruments and comedy. This unique initiative will invite talented children between the ages 6 and 14, from across the country to participate in the competition by uploading their video on its websitewww.hdfclifeyoungstars.com. 

Keeping with HDFC Life’s digital-first focus, HDFC Life YoungStars is driven primarily on the digital medium. Right from the call for entries round, wherein one just needs to upload a video on the website, to all its following phases, to the grand finale, the entire property is digital based.  Selected contestants who make the cut will be nurtured through the course of the show in their respective fields by the mentors. Finalists from each category will then get a chance to perform with their mentors and also win various other exciting prizes. 

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice President & Head - Marketing, Analytics, Digital & E-Commerce, HDFC Life said, “The insight for this platform came from the understanding that parents are the first to spot a child’s potential talent. Parents are always looking for ways to help nurture the talent of their children, with the hope that their child will be able to harvest his/her complete potential. HDFC Life has always partnered with parents through financial planning to help children realize their full potential and capitalize on their talents. However, as a brand we have always believed in being more than just a financial enabler. Hence, with HDFC Life YoungStars we have gone a step further and created a platform where parents can help their kids to showcase, and nurture their talents under the guidance of our four talented mentors.”

Further, Mr. Shreyas Rao, Senior Vice President, #fame said, “We are glad to associate with HDFC Life, one of the most forward thinking and digitally savvy financial services brands and Maxus in this exciting new initiative. At #fame, we have pioneered several properties capitalising on the power of mobile video to discover the new wave of exciting talent. HDFC Life Young Stars is a unique platform which will give young talented kids a digital stage to showcase their skills and get recognised.”

Maxus ESP, the content arm of marketing services agency Maxus, played a pivotal role in conceptualizing the property with the brand’s objectives in mind. Besides partnering the creation process the team helped find the right platform and partner in #fame by leveraging on its understanding of the media universe. Pooja Verma, Head, Maxus ESP said, “At Maxus ESP we believe that great content created by leveraging technology can significantly enhance the consumer’s experience of a brand. HDFC Young Stars is a great example of how we help make it happen. Today, the most commonly found gadget in the country is a handheld mobile device. What better way than using something as simple as a mobile to help encourage parents from all parts of the country to participate and showcase the talent of their kids. ”

Here is what the Mentors had to say:

The ABCD 2 actress, Lauren Gottlieb who was extremely enthusiastic about the launch, commented, “The kids today have a lot of exposure to the different dance forms, thanks to the internet. HDFC Life YoungStars will be a medium of both exposure and personal learning for them. I look forward to mentor the young dancing dynamites of India.”

Distinguished VJ, comedian and Bollywood actor Cyrus Sahukar said, “The entire concept is innovative and unique. It’s the perfect mix of talent and digital. All one needs is a smartphone and talent for their ticket to fame. There's so much to comedy be it stand-up, sketch, improv, mimes… I am eager to see the kids get started"

The Musical sensation, Raghav Sachar said “I believe the virtual world is taking over and I am really happy to be a part of HDFC Life YoungStars, especially since instrumental music is not normally in the spotlight. Not only will this be fun and energetic, it will also give an opportunity to push young talent onto bigger avenues."

The playback singer and composer who is known for his songs in the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,  Siddharth Mahadevan said, “Music is the best stress buster. It would be a privilege to judge these little ones. Platforms like this will give these kids the required boost. I am sure it’s going be a tough and exciting way ahead.”

About HDFC Life
Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a leading long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, and Health. Customers have the added advantage of customizing plans, by adding optional benefits called riders, at a nominal price. As on 31 December 2015, the Company had 28 individual and 8 group products in its portfolio, along with 7 optional rider benefits catering to a diverse range of customer needs.
HDFC Life continues to benefit from having a wide reach with 402 HDFC Life offices in India and 8,000+ distributor touch-points. The Company has a strong base of Financial Consultants. The Company has also recently completed incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary in Dubai to offer reinsurance services.
HDFC Life is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life, a global long term investment savings player. Currently HDFC holds 70.65% and Standard Life holds 26.00% of equity in the joint venture, while the rest is held by others. On August 14, 2015 HDFC Ltd. has entered into a share sale agreement with Standard Life to sell a 9.00% stake in HDFC Life to the latter. The transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. Post the completion of the above transaction, HDFC will hold 61.65% stake in HDFC Life and Standard Life’s stake will increase to 35.00%, with rest to be held by others.
For more information, please visit our website, www.hdfclife.com. You may also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

About #fame
#fame is India’s No.1 Live Video Social Platform catering to mobile millennials through an integrated ‘talent-first’ strategy, #fame is set to become Asia’s premier digital entertainment network through its presence across 6 countries over the next 3 years. #fame’s content centres around mobile-led LIVE video programming and innovative video-on-demand content including high impact digital properties, shows and formats in genres such as entertainment, food, fashion, music, comedy. With a multi-platform approach in distribution and a strong presence across all digital and social platforms, #fame helps brands reach and engage audiences through customized solutions spanning talent-based content, properties and digital video services. 

fastfilmz brings the world’s fastest mobile video technology to Regional Movie Lovers

…Targeting the ever-expanding smartphone population, the fastfilmz app offers unlimited download of HD movies at Re. 1 a day

…Exclusive to fastfilmz, V- Nova’s PERSEUS^TM compression technology enables a movie download at as low as 150MB data per movie versus 600MB data usage by any other app

…Now high quality streaming even over congested and unreliable 2G networks

Chennai, India, April 07, 2016: fastfilmz – a start-up with its headquarters in Bangalore and London, has launched the world’s fastest video app: an HD movie app that has gone live on Google Play. 100% dedicated to Regional movies, the company is redefining movie watching for India’s film-crazy fans, powered by the world’s fastest video compression technology: V- Nova’s PERSEUS^TM. With over 150+ hit HD Tamil movies, fastfilmz offers unlimited downloads and has lowest data consumption, for as little as Rs. 30 a month, i.e., Re. 1 a day!

fastfilmz is co-founded by Harvard and Kellogg alumni and previous employees of McKinsey & Company - Dominic Charles and Karam Malhotra – co-CEOs and co-Founders, fastfilmz. The company has been funded by multiple angel investors from the USA and Europe.

The fastfilmz app is designed for the common man and woman in India who love their regional cinema but cannot afford high data charges, an expensive smartphone or even movie tickets on a regular basis. On the other hand, the subscription cost for this app starts at only Rs. 10 per week and Rs. 30 per month.The payment model has been simplified by the company to appeal to the end-consumer, where the amount will be deducted from talk-time balance. At launch, fastfilmz has tied up with the four largest network service providers in TN (Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea).

fastfilmz has exclusively partnered with V-Nova for its PERSEUS™ Technology – the world’s fastest video compression technology – to solve the issues of high data costs for downloads and buffering when streaming. V-Nova’s PERSEUS^TM allows fastfilmz to provide full movie downloads at as low as 150MB data per 2.5-hours movie versus >600MB data usage by any other app. V-Nova Limited is a London-headquartered software company providing advanced video compression technology and software solutions. The technology also enables streaming of quality video over the 2G networks that 70% of India’s consumers use for Internet access.

“We noticed that small-town, regional consumers didn’t have access to fast networks and affordable data to watch movies on their smartphones at ease. We decided to create fastfilmz to bridge this gap. By partnering with V-Nova exclusively, we have rights to use their world-class video compression technology PERSEUS™, which enables us to provide HD quality movies to our users at affordable data costs. Moreover, the technology has helped us increase our potential customer base by 4x, from a possible 30 million customers using 3G to over 120 million customers using 2G and 3G”, says co-CEO and Co-Founder, Karam Malhotra.

“While conducting our market study, we saw that the consumption of regional cinema in India is as large as Bollywood, but not one single service dedicated to this devoted audience. We are launching with the best catalogue of recent and classic Tamil movies featuring all the top Heroes and we will be adding 5-10 more titles each and every week. Meanwhile, we will also be adding some of the best Telugu movies to the app by the end of this year.” says co-CEO and co-founder, Dominic Charles.

About fastfilmz:

At fastfilmz we are revolutionizing Mobile Video. Using PERSEUS™, the world’s leading compression technology built by V-Nova, we have launched the ‘World’s Fastest Video App’.

100% dedicated to Regional movies, we are redefining movie watching for India’s film-crazy fans!

About V-Nova Limited:

V-Nova is a London-headquartered software company providing advanced signal compression technology and software solutions to address the global explosion in network traffic. V-Nova is at the heart of digitalisation, serving multiple industry segments, including TV and Media where it provides solutions spanning the whole media delivery chain, from UHD/4K contribution to distribution to connected devices and set-top-boxes.

Celebrities, Directors and kids watch The Jungle Book at a special screening!!

A host of eminent personalities descended to watch a special screening of the much awaited family film 'The Jungle Book' at a special preview yesterday in Mumbai

Seen immensely enjoying the film were Raju Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Arshad Warsi, Maria Goretti and kids, Amyra Dastur, Mini Mathur and more!!

MCHI – CREDAI unveils its 26th edition of Real estate and Housing Finance Exhibition on the Festive note of Gudi Padwa

The Exhibition will showcase 1000+ properties 100+ top developers (exhibitors), 15+ Banks with never seen before offers to cater to the expectations of 75,000+ buyers and a tie-up with online realty portal housing.com for the Third time.

Mumbai 7^th April 2016: MCHI – CREDAI’s 26^th Property Exhibition 2016, one stop shop for all the potential property buyers was unveiled with great enthusiasm at Bandra – Kurla Complex, MMRDA Grounds. Shri Deepankar Bose, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India lit the inaugural lamp in the presence of an august gathering.

Keeping the positive sentiments of the property buyers in mind, MCHI – CREDAI expo has added festive cheer for its buyers who are all set to press the “Buy now” button on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa.

The real estate sector anticipates a fruitful year ahead, especially after recent steps taken by government which includes passage of real estate bill, repo rate cut by the central bank and various sops announced in Union Budget 2016 particularly to boost affordable housing, have spread optimistic sentiments amongst the property buyers and the industry. Keeping in mind and acknowledging this positive environment, MCHI – CREDAI has left no stone unturned to offer astounding offers to the homebuyers.

The theme for this edition “Buy Now” encouraged the property buyers to scout for opportunities. Over the span of past 15 years and 25 Editions of Property Exhibitions, many buyers have realized their dream of owning Real Estate after a visit to the MCHI – CREDAI Property Expo. This is after the stupendous success of MCHI-CREDAI’s Silver Jubilee – 25^th Edition of Expo held in the month of October, 2015.

While announcing the commencement of the 26th Edition of the exhibition, Dharmesh Jain, President, MCHI – CREDAI said, “The 26^th Edition of MCHI-CREDAI’s Exhibition is a celebration of all the positivity and upbeat mood in the market, also it is a testament to the success of the last 25 Editions. Our endeavor to create value for all participants in the Real Estate Industry is bearing fruit. The current show has a major digital foot print and has a truly international presence, being among the very few Indian entities that have brought Indian assets in front of an international audience.”

Speaking on the occasion, Tejas Vyas, Chairman, Exhibition Committee, MCHI-CREDAI said, “MCHI – CREDAI expo is not just the industry's  biggest booster but also the only platform where developers and customers come together, face to face on such a big scale. And it keeps growing into a bigger affair year on year. As an association, our aim is to help the buyer and seller met their right match in the most effortless manner and on a credible platform. The 4 days show also happens to surround one of the most auspicious festival, Gudi Padwa where new purchases are encouraged. Hence developers have released various offers to make home purchase even more exciting for the customers. We look forward to happy shopping experience for everyone.”

Amit Bhasin, Head- Strategic Business, Housing.com said, "We had a great experience on the back of the success of our first joint MCHI event last year. With this edition of the event, we are working even more closely to benefit participating developers and, importantly, the home buyers seeking a more transparent and simplified experience with amazing offers.”

The Expo will be open for general public from 10 AM to 8 PM from 7^th April & 8^th April and from 11AM to 9PM on 9^th and 10^th April 2016 at MMRDA Grounds, BKC, Mumbai.

About Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI) (www.mchi.net)

The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI-CREDAI) was formed in 1982, and is one of the most prominent and the recognized body of Real Estate Developers in Mumbai and MMR. MCHI-CREDAI brings together members dealing in Real Estate Development on one common platform to address various issues facing the Industry. With a strong Membership of over 1800 leading Developers in Mumbai and The MCHI-CREDAI has expanded across MMR, having its own units in Thane, Kalyan -Dombivali, Mira - Virar City, Raigad and Navi Mumbai. MCHI-C REDAI is recognized by Government of Maharashtra and the Central Government and helps in meeting their objectives of providing housing, which is a basic necessity.

About Housing.com

Founded in 2012, Housing.com is India's leading online real estate platform with 1.7 million verified homes listed to date, and an unparalleled online user experience. The Company is a technologically innovative real estate platform with a larger vision to bring more transparency, efficiency and trust across the real estate ecosystem in India.

Housing.com is the only provider of independently verified listings of every home listed, conducted by a trained team of data collectors, analysts, auditors and photographers. With over 120 data points per listing, the in-house Data Sciences Lab is empowered with a significant body of information to allow buyers and sellers to make more informed decisions. Housing.com is passionate about taking a 360 degree view on solving India's real estate challenges.

Housing.com has led a number of strategic acquisitions, such as the largest community forum on buying and selling homes (Indian Real Estate Forum), an established company focused on doing due diligence of new real estate projects (Realty Business Intelligence), and a popular software for developers to manage and enhance their marketing and sales efforts (HomeBuy360). Housing.com has raised over $100 million in capital from India's leading investors, including Softbank, Nexus Ventures, Falcon Edge, Helion Ventures, Nirvana Ventures, Qualcomm, DST founder Yuri Milner, Viacom 18 co-founder Haresh Chawla, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, among others.

Matthew Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity set to release on 29th April, 2016

~The biographical drama film that depicts Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life is based on the 1991 book of the same name by Robert Kanigel~

Mumbai, 6^th April, 2016: The Man Who Knew Infinity written and directed by Matthew Brown is based on the book by Robert Kanigel. The story revolves around ace mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life and the struggles he had to face to prove his merit.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. Living in India with no access to the larger mathematical community, which was centered in Europe at the time, Ramanujan developed his own mathematical research in isolation. As a result, he rediscovered known theorems in addition to producing new work. Ramanujan was said to be a natural genius by the English mathematician G. H. Hardy, in the same league as mathematicians such as Euler and Gauss.

The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913,

Srinivasa Ramanujan played by Dev Patel, a self-taught Indian mathematics genius traveled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he forged a bond with his mentor, the eccentric professor GH Hardy played by Jeremy Irons, and fought against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world. The film also stars svelte looking Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry and Toby Jones.

The film introduces Devika Bhise, who is essaying the role of Ramanujan's wife Janaki. A trained classical dancer, Devika did a lot of research to get into the skin of her character and she also spoke to author Robert Kanigel, who had met the real-life Janaki later in her life, to understand the nuances of her character.

The supporting and eminent star cast include, Kevin R. McNally, Jeremy Northam, Arundhati Nag, Dhritiman Chaterji, Anthony Calf, Richard Johnson, Padraic Delaney, Shazad Latif, Raghuvir Joshi, Roger Narayan.

The film will release in English and Tamil on 29^th April, 2016.

About The Man Who Knew Infinity:

An Edward R. Pressman/Animus Films production in association with Cayenne Pepper Productions, The Man Who Knew Infinity, starring Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons,  Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry, Toby Jones and Arundhati Nag, has been written and directed by Matthew Brown and is slated to release on April 29, 2016.

Vivo Launches V3 and V3 Max with Ranveer Singh as Brand Ambassador

New phones offer ‘Faster than Faster’ unbeatable speed with premium features – faster RAM, faster charging and faster fingerprint unlocking

Mumbai, April 5^th, 2016: At a high voltage event held in Mumbai, Vivo, the premium global smartphone brand launched its new V series smartphones-V3 and V3Max. The company also announced roping in actor Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador. With this dual grand announcement, Vivo has set the tone of its power in the India smartphones market. The Vivo V3 and V3 Max will be available at Rs. 17,980 and Rs. 23,980 respectively. The new phones offer ‘Faster than Faster’ unbeatable speed packed with premium features with a technological breakthrough faster fingerprint unlocking.

Ranveer Singh, the current heartthrob will feature in the brand’s new TVC in early April. He will also be a part of various customer engagement activities that the brand has planned for the year.  

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Alex Feng, CEO of Vivo India said, “It gives me immense pleasure to announce the launch of our innovation, the V3 and V3 Max for the Indian market. The V series designed with creativity and equipped with state of art technology will be a landmark for Vivo India. India remains our prime focus and the launch of these models is a testimony of our commitment to cater to the ever growing demand of meticulous customers in India and worldwide. The V3 and V3 Max offer an unbeatable proposition of cutting edge technology, impressive looks and Hi-Fi music quality in the industry.”

He further added, “We are truly delighted to have Ranveer Singh as the face of Vivo in India. Ranveer enjoys a huge fan following amongst the young Indian audience and Vivo being the brand for the youth, this lethal combination is all set to create magic in the Indian market. We are expanding our operations in India with enhanced branding to reach out to a larger customer base. Currently we are present in over 10,000 outlets. With the help of Ranveer and 8,000 colleagues, I’m confident that we are going to make great progress in the coming IPL season and 2016.”

V Series - V3 and V3 Max

The marvelously designed metallic body along with the powerful configuration make V series phones a perfect combination of performance and looks. The V3Max is armed with dual fast charging engines adopted by Qualcomm QC 2.0 international standard thereby making the device extremely compatible.

The fingerprint unlocking allows the user to unlock the phone as fast as 0.2 seconds from and 0.5 seconds in sleep mode. The newly incorporated screen-split feature allows users to do multitasking without having to switch back and forth. Users can chat and watch videos simultaneously at the same time on one screen.

V3 Max, the high-end phone features a 13.97cm (5.5) full HD display with the resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. It comes with 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass and a metal body which gives it both elegant and strong appearance and protects it from accidental falls.

Vivo V3 Max - Specifications ·         4G LTE Network ·         13.97 cm (5.5) FHD Display ·         Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (Octa-core) ·         4GB RAM/32GB ROM (Expandable up to 128GB) ·         13MP Rear Camera & 8MP Front Camera ·         Battery 3000 mAh

Vivo V3 - Specifications ·         4G LTE Network ·         12.7 cm (5) HD Display ·         Snapdragon 616 (Octa-core) ·         3GB RAM/16GB ROM ·         (Expandable up to 128GB) ·         13MP Rear Camera & 8MP Front Camera ·         Battery 2550 mAh

The phone is equipped with a powerful Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor and paired with 4GB RAM and 32GB ROM which is expandable up to 128 GB. The device runs on Funtouch OS 2.5 based on Android 5.1 which stabilizes the whole system and makes it run fast.

V3 on the other hand flaunts the same design but comes with a slightly smaller screen. It measures 12.7 (5) HD display with the resolution of 1280×720 pixels and powered by Octa-core Snapdragon 616 processor. The Vivo V3 is coupled with 3GB RAM and 16GB ROM.

Both V3 and V3 Max house the same camera hardware. They feature a 13MP primary camera and 8MP front camera. The supremely advanced camera features result in a delightful photo capturing experience.

About Vivo Mobile India

Vivo is one of the fastest growing multinational manufacturer of smartphones. Vivo entered India in the late 2014 and started its smartphone business incorporating two distinctive features in their products – Hi-Fi and Smart that is focusing on superior video and sound quality and a splendid blend of science and technology respectively. Vivo India has been serving the Indian customers with 8,000 employees and 10,000 retailers, in almost 400 cities in 22 states. The “Make in India” initiative also resonates with Vivo India plan. Its assembly unit in Greater Noida is the first step towards this commitment. Vivo has also successfully bagged the title sponsorship of the India Premier League for two consecutive years that is 2016 and 2017. With a host of unmatched user-friendly features, advanced technology and dynamism Vivo is one of the most rapidly emerging multinational all set to capture the world smartphone market.

SAGAR DEFENCE ENGINEERING PVT. LTD. ANNOUNCED AS THE WINNER OF THE ‘MIS 2016 – DP WORLD PRIZE’ CONTEST

~A start-up contest organized by the Ministry of Shipping, Invest India and DP World~

Mumbai, India, April 5th, 2016: Ministry of Shipping today announced Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd. as the winner of the maiden ‘MIS 2016 – DP World Prize’ contest which was organized in association with Invest India and Global trade enabler DP World. The winner will be awarded a prize money of INR 15,00,000 by DP World to support their project at the Maritime India Summit 2016.

‘MIS 2016 - DP World Prize’ contest received an overwhelming response from participants across the country of which final five entries were shortlisted. These five shortlisted start-ups were invited to make a presentation to an eminent panel of judges chaired by Mr. Deepak Parekh. 

Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd., was founded by Capt. Nikunj Parashar and his team in May 2015. They have launched the first unmanned marine surface vehicle for Indian Navy. Their product has been successfully inducted in the Indian armed forces. This developed technology has the potential for extreme applications to study radiation levels in Nuclear power plants and in thermal power to test out submerged structures to list a few.

Mr. Barun Mitra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India said, “We believe that there is immense potential in the Maritime Sector. Innovative initiatives like the ‘MIS 2016 – DP World Prize’ contest will assist in realising our vision to create unique platforms for investors to explore potential business opportunities in this sector.”

Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC said, “The ‘MIS 2016 - DP World Prize’ contest is an aggregator platform to motivate young entrepreneurial talent present in our country. All the five shortlisted participants showcased excellent entrepreneurial skills through the fresh innovative concepts and ideas submitted by them. It was indeed a challenge for us to select Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd. as the winner for this maiden contest.”

Commenting on the start-up accelerator programme, Mr. Deepak Bagla, Invest India, said “India offers a unique advantage in the Maritime Sector, given our long coastline. There are tremendous opportunities for start-ups and large corporations alike. This unique contest allowed budding entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas and aimed to provide them with immediate funding support.”

Mr. Anil Singh, Managing Director & Senior Vice President, DP World Subcontinent, said, “As an organization DP World is committed to the growth and development of the maritime industry in India. The ‘MIS 2016 – DP World Prize’ contest aims to reward entrepreneurs who have game-changing ideas that could provide an impetus to the industry. We congratulate Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd. on developing a path-breaking concept and hope the prize will help them to make their idea a success.”

Capt. Nikunj Parashar, Co-Founder, Sagar Defence Technology said, “We are extremely delighted and proud to win the maiden ‘MIS 2016 – DP World Prize’ contest. This platform has now further strengthened our belief that in time to come Unmanned marine vehicle will not only save time, money and increase productivity, but also save human lives out at sea and on battlefronts! We will be utilizing this prize money to build our first Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Oil & Gas sector which is scheduled to be launched in October.”

About the finalists

1. Planys: A Chennai based, IIT Madras Incubated Company manufactures indigenous ROVs & provides underwater inspection services using them. Integrate marine robotics, advanced Non-Destructive Testing & post-inspection analysis tools. 

2. Zarrots: The Bhubaneshwar company developing IOT devices to gather and stores fuel consumption data of marine vessels in cloud data storage system. The analytics software run on data stored in cloud servers to find spikes, drops, unusual usage patterns to find marine fuel leakages, spillage, inefficient usage or theft. Stakeholders can access the data online and are informed via email or SMS regarding important incidents.

3. Sagar Defence Engineering: The Mumbai-based Company is a highly skilled start-up, founded with an aim to provide new innovations and complete Unmanned Marine Vehicles solutions in Commercial, Defence, & Scientific sector. The organization strives to meet the never ending needs of technological competency in Maritime sector. Sagar Defence Engineering has become a pioneer by launching the first unmanned marine surface vehicle for Indian armed force.

4. Volteo: The Hyderabad based company, created a Smartport Platform offering a Saas model (pricing per feature) which allows ports to amortize the cost over a period of time instead of investing one time unlike other expensive enterprise software

5. VMW: The Bengaluru based concept is promoted by a team of technocrats with background in mechanical engineering and material handling systems, Project Management and Marketing. They focus on specialised material handling solutions in container handling in ports and terminals.

About DP World:

DP World is a leading enabler of global trade and an integral part of the supply chain. We operate multiple yet related businesses – from marine and inland terminals, maritime services, logistics and ancillary services to technology-driven trade solutions.

We have a portfolio of 70 terminals in 31 countries across six continents with a significant presence in both high-growth and mature markets. We aim to be essential to the bright future of global trade, ensuring everything we do has a long-lasting positive impact on economies and society. Our dedicated team of over 36,000 employees cultivates long-standing relationships with governments, shipping lines, importers and exporters, communities, and many other important constituents of the global supply chain, to add value and provide quality services today and tomorrow.

Container handling is the company’s core business and generates more than three quarters of its revenue. In 2015, DP World handled 61.7 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its portfolio. With its committed pipeline of developments and expansions, capacity is expected to rise to more than 100 million TEU by 2020, in line with market demand. By thinking ahead, foreseeing change and innovating we aim to create the most productive, efficient and safe trade solutions globally.

www.dpworld.com