Henkel reports strong performance in the first quarter

• Sales exceed 5 bn euros for the first time, rising to 5,064 million euros:
  nominal growth +13.6%, organic growth +4.0%

·         Double-digit increase in operating profit*: +13.8% to 854 million euros

·         Further EBIT margin* improvement: +10 basis points to 16.9%

• Excellent growth in earnings per preferred share*: +11.0% to 1.41 euros

Mumbai – “Henkel delivered a strong performance in the first quarter in a highly challenging market environment. The consumer goods markets were characterized by intensifying promotional and pricing pressure. We were able to significantly increase sales and earnings and to further grow adjusted return on sales. For the first time, quarterly sales exceeded 5 billion euros. Adjusted operating profit also reached a new high. All three business units and all regions contributed to the successful development and the high quality of earnings,” said Henkel CEO Hans Van Bylen.

“This strong performance was driven by our leading brands and innovations, our intensified focus on our customers and consumers, the acceleration of our digital activities and our highly committed global team,” Hans Van Bylen added. “We further strengthened our portfolio and signed two compelling acquisitions.”

* Adjusted for one-time charges/gains and restructuring charges.

Commenting on the fiscal year 2017, Hans Van Bylen said: “We expect the overall volatile and uncertain market environment to persist throughout the year. Currency fluctuations are likely to continue and the prices for commodities are expected to increase. We also anticipate promotional and pricing pressure in the consumer goods markets to further increase. Nevertheless, we are committed to continue our successful development.”

In this challenging market environment, Henkel confirmed the outlook for the current fiscal year: “We expect organic sales growth of 2 to 4 percent. We expect our adjusted EBIT margin to increase to more than 17.0 percent and adjusted earnings per preferred share to grow between 7 and 9 percent,” said Hans Van Bylen.

Sales and earnings performance in the first quarter 2017

At 5,064 million euros, sales in the first quarter 2017 reached a new record level and grew nominally by 13.6 percent compared to the prior-year quarter. Positive foreign exchange effects accounted for 1.1 percent of this growth. The contribution from acquisitions and divestments amounted to 8.5 percent, mainly as a result of the acquisition of The Sun Products Corporation. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of foreign exchange effects and acquisitions/divestments, showed a strong increase of 4.0 percent.

Organic sales growth was driven by all business units. The Adhesive Technologies business unit reported a very strong increase in organic sales of 5.5 percent. The Beauty Care business unit posted good organic sales growth of 2.3 percent. The Laundry & Home Care business unit recorded a strong increase in organic sales of 3.0 percent.

The emerging markets again made an above-average contribution to the organic growth of the Group, with a very strong increase in organic sales of 6.7 percent, while the mature marketsregistered good organic sales growth of 2.1 percent.

Henkel reported organic sales growth across all regions: Sales in Western Europe grew by 1.8 percent. Eastern Europe achieved growth of 4.4 percent. In Africa/Middle East, sales grew by 2.2 percent. Sales in the North America region increased by 2.9 percent. Latin America achievedgrowth of 8.2 percent and in the Asia-Pacific region sales grew by 9.1 percent.

Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) improved by 13.8 percent to 854 million euros. All three business units contributed to this positive performance.

Adjusted return on sales (EBIT) rose by 0.1 percentage points to 16.9 percent.

Adjusted earnings per preferred share grew by 11.0 percent from 1.27 euros to 1.41 euros.

Net working capital as a percentage of sales improved by 0.5 percentage points to 4.9 percent.

Effective March 31, 2017, Henkel’s net financial position showed a balance of
-1,961 million euros (December 31, 2016: -2,301 million euros). The change compared to the end of 2016 was mainly due to a positive free cash flow.

Business unit performance

The Adhesive Technologies business unit generated very strong organic sales growth of 5.5 percent in the first quarter. Nominally, sales increased by 7.1 percent to 2,295 million euros.Adjusted operating profit grew by 10.5 percent and reached 415 million euros. Adjusted return on sales recorded a very strong increase to 18.1 percent.

The Beauty Care business unit registered good organic sales growth of 2.3 percent in the first quarter. In nominal terms, sales grew by 6.4 percent to 1,011 million euros. Adjusted operating profit reached 169 million euros, an increase of 7.4 percent compared to the prior-year quarter. Adjusted return on sales recorded a good increase and reached 16.7 percent.

The Laundry & Home Care business unit generated strong organic sales growth of 3.0 percent in the first quarter. Nominally, sales increased by 29.5 percent to 1,726 million euros compared to the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating profit grew by 22.8 percent to 298 million euros, while adjusted return on sales was at 17.3 percent. The acquisition of The Sun Products Corporation contributed significantly to both sales and operating profit.

Compelling acquisitions further strengthening portfolio

Henkel signed an agreement to acquire the global Darex Packaging Technologies business from GCP Applied Technologies and an agreement to acquire the Mexican hair care company Nattura Laboratorios.

Outlook for 2017 confirmed

Henkel confirms the outlook for the fiscal year 2017. Henkel expects to generate organic sales growth of 2 to 4 percent and anticipates that each business unit will generate organic sales growth within this range. For adjusted return on sales (EBIT), Henkel expects an increase versus the prior year to more than 17.0 percent. Henkel expects an increase in adjusted earnings per preferred share of between 7 and 9 percent.

Wrangler Flags off the True Wanderers from Mumbai

Wrangler, the American denim brand, is back with its nationwide search for the True Wanderer. After five successful seasons, True Wanderer comes to you in a brand-new avatar – bigger, bolder and more exciting than ever before. And this time, no matter what your ride, everyone’s invited.

After five successful seasons of True Wanderer, Wrangler is calling on all adventure and travel enthusiasts. Wrangler has concluded its nationwide search for the top 25 True Wanderers and is sponsoring their trip in India. Kitted out in the best of Wrangler’s Ride Ready range of apparel and flagged off from an exclusive Wrangler store in their city, the True Wanderer finalists will go on a 5-day road trip wearing only products by Wrangler. They can choose to travel by car, bike, foot or any mode of transportation of their choice. While on their journey, they will need to complete travel-related challenges set by Wrangler. Each rider will complete and showcase these challenges in their Wander Diary on wrangler-ap.com/in along with photos and videos.

The Mumbai finalists - Prathamesh Sableand Dhruv Dholakia were flagged off from an exclusive Wrangler store in the city. When speaking of his passion for travel, Prathamesh Sable says,“From mountains to sea, you know your true direction in life.Getting there is an issue. But as they say, don’t waste your time worrying about the ‘how’.Just focus on the vision and allow a resolute purpose to guide you! Be modest to yourself and always treat the experience as serendipity."

When asked to share his #Live2Wander moment, Dhruv Dholakia says “A crazy idea came to my head. To motorcycle across all 29 states of India. So I left my career and home to see the country. It took 16 months but felt like a whole new life. Follow my blog on Facebook ‘ON A BULLET YATRA’.”

Based on votes and the scores of an elite judging panel, the winner of True Wanderer 2017 will win the grand prize of an all-expenses-paid trip to Australia. The runners-up will win trips to Bali and Sikkim.

Videocon d2h partners with ‘Dance with Madhuri’

To introduce its interactive dance learning service ‘d2h Nachle’

Mumbai, 10^th May, 2017: Videocon d2h, India’s fastest growing DTH player has partnered with Dance with Madhuri to launch  an interactive dance service called ‘d2h Nachle’. The service launched today in Mumbai, is set to win the hearts of dance lovers across the 18 million strong Videocon d2h subscriber base. d2h Nachle is available on Ch No. 525 and is available for free preview till 22^nd May 2017.

Madhuri Dixit, renowned for her legendary dance moves along with her Dance with Madhuri team of eminent gurus and choreographers, is all set to get you dancing on Videocon with its d2h subscribers.  This association will give dance enthusiasts a chance to synchronise their steps and learn the best in class, dance lessons from the comfort of their living rooms. With support from gurus like Pt. Birju Maharaj, Saroj Khan, Terence Lewis, Remo D’Souza and a host of renowned choreographers from the industry, D2h Nachle powered by Dance with Madhuri is sure to charm subscribers. There are now over 100+ classes, 100+ hours of content and 1800+ lessons. From Indian Classical dance forms like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, to Western forms like Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Salsa, Bachata and of course lots of Bollywood, d2h Nachle powered by Dance with Madhuri is sure to be a dancer’s delight!

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman Videocon d2h said, “We are delighted to partner with the legendary dance icon Madhuri Dixit and Dance with Madhuri to launch d2h Nachle on our platform. D2h Nachle will strengthen our Value Added Services(VAS). Our consumers will find d2h Nachle compelling and engaging, especially the younger ones.”

Talking about the launch, Mr. Anil Khera, Chief Executive Officer Videocon d2h said, “ Dance is among the most popular expressions of joy and celebration in every part of the country. d2h Nachle, powered by Dance with Madhuri, will bring to every home Madhuri & her expert team of renowned choreographers as their personal dance teachers.”

Madhuri Dixit said, “The idea is to give the joy of learning any dance form of one’s choice to everyone and we strongly believe that our association with Videocon D2h will enable millions of people to learn various dance forms from the comfort of their homes. We have assembled a team of some of the most accomplished and renowned choreographers, who help us create lessons that let everyone learn how to dance in the most, authentic, structured and convenient way possible.”

Videocon d2h has prided itself in presenting its subscribers with a robust line-up of more than 650 channels and services, including a host of regional channels. It offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both Standard Definition and HD, etc.

ALTBalaji and PayPal to work together to enable online payments for international subscribers

9 May 2017 ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balaji Telefilms Limited has entered into a partnership for international online payments with PayPal, the world’s open digital payments company. ALTBalaji’s international users across 200 markets will now be able to subscribe to the streaming service conveniently using PayPal’s comprehensive payment platform.

Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO of ALT Digital Media Entertainment Limited said, “We are extremely delighted to have partnered with PayPal as our international payments partner. With a vision to redefine entertainment for Indians globally, our association with PayPal will help us streamline the process of subscribing to the ALTBalaji service using one of the most popular payment service globally.”

Speaking on the partnership, Ashish Tandon, Head, Channel Partners, PayPal said, “Technology has democratized access to products and services. Global consumers have been traditionally using PayPal to make payments that help them access Indian entertainment content.  As per the recently launched PayPal Cross Border Consumer Research 2016, online spends for entertainment as a category is projected to witness the highest growth among all other purchase categories in India. We have already observed this trend globally and look forward to leveraging our global network for ALTBalaji.”

Through this partnership, ALTBalaji will be able to reach out to PayPal’s 203 million active global accounts across 200 markets thereby providing a magnitude of convenience to its international users. Through a combination of strategic partnerships and technological innovations, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid.

ALTBalaji was launched on 16^th April 2017 with 5 original shows and will add new shows every fortnight for its viewers to binge watch. The content is created by some of the best talent of the Indian entertainment industry, including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and more. 

Future Generali India Insurance covers Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGII) said it has insured Baahubali 2: The Conclusion for an amount of over Rs 200 crores under its film package insurance product, Future Cine Suraksha. FGII is a general insurance company that is a joint venture between Future Group - the game changers in retail trade in India and Generali – a 186 years old global insurance group. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is an Indian epic historical fiction film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni.  It is the continuation of Baahubali: The Beginning. The film series is touted to be the most expensive in India till date. FGII covers the risks related to the film during the pre- production to post-production stage. It insures the film against unforeseen incidents like death, illness of an actor or occurrence of natural calamities or accidental damage leading to delays in the film schedule. It also includes coverage against accidents that damage equipment while shooting is in process. Additionally, it covers insurance against its legal liability to pay damages for third party civil claims arising out of bodily injury or property damage caused in the course of the event by an accident in the premises where it is held and during the policy period. K.G. Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD and CEO, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited commented, “The film industry in India is increasingly opting for insurance cover. In FY 17, we have issued 160 film insurance policies, mostly in Bollywood. We would now like to focus on Southern market as well since we are confident of catering to the unique requirements of the film industry.” Till date, FGII has issued 372 film insurance policies.

'Tata Sky Kids Cinema' brings children's films from across the world ~First ever exclusive kid's movie service in India curated by Monica Wahi

Big adventures. Memorable characters. ‘Tata Sky Kids Cinema’ brings children’s films from across the world

~First ever exclusive kid’s movie service in India curated by Monica Wahi 

Mumbai, May 6, 2017: Tata Sky, India's innovative content distribution platform, today announced the launch of ‘Tata Sky Kids Cinema’, an ad-free service dedicated exclusively to showcasing the best of children’s movies from around the world. Launched this May, Tata Sky Kids’ Cinema’ promises to thrill, entertain and enlighten not only children but adults too with a carefully-curated library of content by Children's Film Specialist - Monica Wahi, featuring a range of Indian and International movies in multiple languages.

‘Tata Sky Kids Cinema’ is free of cost for all Tata Sky subscribers featuring a mix of delightful animated and live action features and short-films, most of which have never released in India. Over 150 award winning and highly acclaimed movies will run all year round ranging in language from Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, to English, Japanese, French, German, Russian and many more. Subscribers will get to watch some hidden gems with movies featuring Irfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah apart from internationally acclaimed animation films such as Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo, My neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s delivery Service; Oscar nominated Secret of Kells and The Grufallo and the recently released adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes.

Being the first ever exclusive Kids based movie service in India, Tata Sky Kids Cinema aims to fill the gap of providing content that is fun and meaningful for both parents and kids. The service is a mix of the content that parent’s desire their kids to watch and engaging and fun that children at all age group want to watch. 

Arun Unni, Chief Content Officer, Tata Sky, said, “Good children’s cinema often transcends language and age. Tata Sky Kids Cinema is a thoughtfully curated movie destination, where not only children but adults can indulge in a mystic and magical world of cinema, which entertains and enlightens at the same time. For parents today, who lack the time to watch meaningful and fun movies with children at home, this is a great bonding experience and helps to create some interesting conversations between kids and parents.  We are confident that with ‘Tata Sky Kids Cinema’, children will indulge in thrilling experiences and create cherished memories.”

Monica Wahi, Founder-Director, South Asian Children’s Cinema Forum said, “Good Cinema helps children grow – creatively, intellectually and as good human beings. It opens their mind to new perspectives and enables them to experience the world with their hearts. I am proud to be associated with ‘Tata Sky’s Kids Cinema’. We have handpicked a wide variety of imaginative and compelling films. From artistically diverse animations to spellbinding adventures and magical fantasies, from hilarious comedies to more contemplative coming of age stories. There is something here to discover for all ages. I’m sure that adults will enjoy these films just as much as children.”

The service will be available 24x7 and can be watched across multiple platforms such as SD, HD+, Tata Sky On-Demand and the Tata Sky Mobile App. Every month new films will be added to the bouquet.

Raising the Bar!

The Great Eastern Home presents its stylish & trendy range of Home Bar Units

A bar is not defined simply by the service of alcohol or bar accessories; it is a social center within a home. Imagine your living space filled with friendly conversations, music and friends enjoying themselves, cheering and having a great time! These are a few of the things that might come to mind when you think about owning a bar in your home. A bar is a social center within a home to create moments that need more of you than anything else as we always like to pour in our own personality into it. The Great Eastern Home is proud to present its wide choice of contemporary and classic Bar Units which will help you surprise your guests with their elegant looks and appeal.

The Bar Units available at the Great Eastern Home will help you surprise your guests with delicious beverages without having to go to the kitchen, thus helping you to host a successful party at home. The Bar units designed by The Great Eastern Home offers you finest quality, elegant looks and larger space to help you create your own personalized home bar and enjoy your drinks around it. All Home bar unit designed by The Great Eastern Home are functional and at the same time will look exotic in any décor and convenient for your leisure requirements. Hence these classic home bars can easily be the heart of your entertainment area. These uniquely designed Bar Units are handmade in limited editions. This exotic home bar unit collection which is part of traditional British style furniture from The Great Eastern Home is a mixture of contemporary and classic style furniture made in various hard woods ensuring its long durability and class.

Commenting on the Bar units at The Great Eastern Home, Suman Shah of The Great Eastern Home says, “the  Bar Units at The Great Eastern Home are an amalgamation of good looks, great quality, durability and unbeatable value. With the addition of some barstools, a bar unit is perfect for informal entertaining. They include ample storage as well as can be moved easily into any living space. These home bar collection represent the finest luxury bar furniture available today.”

Understanding the intricacies of fine furniture and Interiors is Dr. Anurag Kanoria, director and chief designer of The Great Eastern Home. An intuitive sense of style built through generations of art collecting, along with his knowledge, expertise, and his attention to detail in planning and implementation, has led him to create and distribute masterpieces which never go out of style. The Great Eastern Home is a confluence of Ideas, Design, and Art - A Homage to the Art of Fine Living and a Celebration of Past Ages.

Viacom18 partners with Amagi Media Labs to offer geo-targeted advertising solutions for COLORS Kannada and COLORS Marathi

Mumbai, May 02, 2017: Amagi Media Labs, India’s largest TV ad-network and global media technology company, has added COLORS Kannada and COLORS Marathi to its expanding bouquet of channels offering geo-targeted advertising solution. This partnership will offer advertisers an opportunity to market region-specific products, communicate regional offers and promotions, and increase the share of voice by targeting markets such as Bangalore and rest of Karnataka, and Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra.  With this addition, Amagi’s channel strength has increased to 18 channels across entertainment, news, movies and music genres. 

Speaking about the association Bikash Kundu, Senior Vice President- Sales, Regional Channels, Viacom18 said: “Viacom18 believes in always taking the first step forward when it comes to enhancing value for our advertisers as well as the consumer. The partnership with Amagi will enable our national, regional, and new advertisers to reach region specific audience with targeted messaging in a cost-effective manner.”

Baskar Subramanian, Co-Founder, Amagi Media Labs said “We anticipate an incredible scope for growth of geo-targeted TV advertising in the country. Addition of Viacom18 to our portfolio has been yet another important milestone in expanding the market of geo-targeting on National Television Channels. Amagi’s pioneering technology provides reliable, measurable and cost-effective advertising solution to advertisers.”

Other TV channels which are already on the Amagi platform for geo-targeting include Zee, Colors, Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now, Romedy Now, Magicbricks Now, Zoom, Zee Cinema, Zee News, News 18 India, CNBC Awaaz, CNN News 18, IBN Lokmat, NDTV 24X7 and NDTV Profit.

​​Justin Bieber’s India Itinerary Revealed

Justin Bieber will arrive in Mumbai a few days prior to his public show on a private jet after his performance in Dubai. He will be received and welcomed by Arjun Jain, Founder and Managing Director of White Fox India, the sole promoter company of Purpose World Tour, India.

The first day of the visit will entail a lavish dining experience that will explore the nuances of the finest maharaja cuisines served by royal butlers flown in especially from Rajasthan. Traditional gold and silver plated thalis are being customized with engravings of the artist and his entourage’s name embedded on the dinner plates in beautiful Devanagari script. Justin Bieber who has publicly proclaimed his love for Indian food will be served rich authentic cuisine representing the 29 states of India. Adding a touch of opulence, the overall ambiance will resemble an imperial fortress with flutists and sarangi players elevating the fine dining to a celestial experience.

The second day of the visit will entail a tour around the city. The hotspots being zeroed in on include Gateway Of India, Kala Ghoda, Mani Bhavan that showcase a mix of heritage and history.  The city tour will be followed by a luxurious Aryuvedic spa session knowing Bieber’s love for massages.  Since Bieber is touring for the Purpose Tour a visit to an underprivileged home is also being planned apart from a possible party being hosted by a leading industrialist and filmstar

The third day will witness the mega concert in Mumbai followed by a private yacht party with some live karaoke singing  

The fourth and fifth day will entail a visit to New Delhi and Jaipur and a definite trip to Taj Mahal.

Now that’s quite a jetsetter itinerary for sure!

Sunny Leone Gives Justin Bieber Some Advice

Make your floor alive, with living expression collection Pergo Living Expression Collection

                                                                                                            

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Bajaj Electricals partners with Justin Beiber’sPurpose World Tour in India as its exclusive lighting partner

Aims to drive the message of “Switch to LED” to conserve energy

Bajaj Electricals Limited, India’s leading player in consumer durables, fans, lighting and Engineering Projects, today announced its partnership with Justin Beiber’s Purpose World Tour in India as its exclusive lighting partner. The company aims to spread eco-friendly message by encouraging the young audience to switch to LED through the Canadian megastar's music concert scheduled at Mumbai's D.Y. Patil Stadium on 10th May, 2017.

Festival goers will witness some amazing & breathtaking installations done by Bajaj Electricals Ltd. specially designed for the concert. “I am thrilled to be associated with Justin. Beiber’s Purpose World Tour in India.  Aligning with the right artists will help us reinforce our brand ethos and provide a platform to drive the message of eco-friendliness through the ‘Switch to LED’ campaign among this country’s youth population.” Mr. Anant Bajaj, Joint Managing Director, Bajaj Electrical Ltd. said, speaking on the occasion.

Bajaj will also host social media contests via Twitter and Facebook for the residents of India to win passes for the concert.

The medical Fraternity comes in Support of Dr.Muffazal Lakdawala

Dr Arun Prasad, Vice-President of the Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society of India (OSSI),  the umbrella body of bariatric surgeons in India, has called the incident ‘unfortunate’ for the medical fraternity.

“As bariatric surgeons, we are extremely proud of Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and his team of doctors to have taken such a bold decision of treating this patient. So far, no one weighing so much (500 kilos) has survived surgery anywhere in the world. It is a proud moment for India too,” said Dr Prasad.

Dr KK Aggarwal, the national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), has also lent support to the team of doctors treating Eman at Saifee Hospital. IMA, the umbrella body of doctors practicing a ‘modern scientific system of medicine in India, looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well being of the community. Dr Aggarwal said the Maharashtra government, state health dept officials, the state IMA and the State Medical Council have to come together to tackle the issue.



Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala and the whole team gave a tremendous effort and showed a noble bravery to treat a patient in critical situation already. They have given the best world class care for their patient. Patient already had a lot of physical and neurological problems and necessitates a long rehabilitation course after a successful surgery. I think the family and medical community in Alexandria should be greatfull to these doctors rather than bullying on them. As a Bariatric surgeon in Istanbul, i know that CODS team is one of the few world class centers in Asia which can accomplish all the complex surgical procedures in such high risk patients. I heartfully support Dr. Lakdawala and the CODS team for the noble community work they have done for this and hundreds of desperate patients in medical camps in India which in few I joined personally as a visitor surgeon. I think a true and caring heart always wins against lies and allegations at the end.

Dr. Eren Taskin Istanbul- Turkey 

ESPNcricinfo’s “On The Road” Hits the Highway with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza for IPL Season

ESPN’s Melinda Farell and Arya Yuyutsu tour across all IPL destinations exploring the sights, sounds and buzz in the latest season of the sport travel program on cricket’s leading digital platform

Mumbai, 27 April 2017: ESPNcricinfo, the go-to digital destination for all things cricket, announced a season-long collaboration with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza for their digital cricket travel show ‘On the Road’.  Maruti Suzuki, which is also an official sponsor for the 10th season of Indian Premiere League (IPL) is sponsoring the exciting new season on ESPNcricinfo.com.

On the Road, a travel and features video series, explores the sights, sounds and buzz of the IPL as hosts Melinda Farrell and Arya Yuyutsu get behind the wheel of a brand new Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and embark on a journey to India’s IPL destinations, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Rajkot.

The series highlights many of the “Must Try” aspects of each location, giving fans a look at the distinct culture, sights, people, food and traveler insights. From interacting with the local communities to trying out local cuisines, ESPNcricinfo’s ‘On the Road’ is a fun and entertaining repository for information that IPL fans can use when travelling to any of these locations to experience the game.

Join Melinda and Arya on their journey where they rejoice with the Kings IX chant created by Axar Patel for the fans; and their interesting conversations with Manan Vohra on KXIP’s fearless style of cricket and Rishab Pant (Delhi Daredevils) on his U-19 World cup experience, the quickfire 50 which accelerated his career and Virender Sehwag and Adam Gilchrist being his cricketing idols.

On her show, Melinda also speaks with Gujarat Lions' team owner Keshav Bansal on his new-found love for the IPL and how he would love to go on as a team owner, past this second and final year of the Gujarat Lions' IPL tenure.

Jasdeep Pannu, Head of ESPN India TV Initiatives, said, “We are thrilled to work with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, it is a brand that fits perfectly with ‘On The Road’, the unique show that discovers the country in style and showcases the rich culture, sights and sounds of India. Like millions of fans, Melinda and Arya are cricket enthusiasts and love travel. They are taking fans with them as they witness India and its cricketing glory against the backdrop of some of its most vibrant cities and celebrated cricket destinations. It gives fans a unique perspective on IPL 2017, going beyond the game.”

Speaking on the collaboration, Sanjeev Handa, Vice President, Marketing - Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said “At Maruti Suzuki we have always been firm believers in driving best associations for our brands. This year we are collaborating with ESPN Cricinfo’s sports travel show ‘On The Road’ to present the sporty and glamorous persona of Vitara Brezza, matching with the IPL positioning. We certainly look forward to building this collaboration in the digital space into a much bigger entity in the coming days."

Gopa Kumar, Vice President, Isobar India, said, “On the Road" is a perfect fit to match the sporty & glamorous Vitara Brezza and IPL is a perfect platform to be present on as this is India Biggest Sporting Extravaganza.  It is heartening to see market leaders like Maruti Suzuki and ESPN Cricinfo team up and drive this partnership. We are always on the lookout for partnerships that open up endless possibilities in the digital space for MSIL. We look forward to many such associations and collaborations in the near future.”

The weekly series along with other ESPNcricinfo IPL offerings was launched on the 22nd of April 2017; a total of eight episodes will be rolled out over the span of the season and will be accessible on http://www.espncricinfo.com/ontheroad.  

ICAI has found 4 Chartered Accountants guilty of misconduct .

Subsequent to the Demonetization policy announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, it had appeared in the media that certain members of the Chartered Accountancy profession were reportedly advising in a manner which is in violation of applicable provisions of Chartered Accountants Act and Rules framed there under.

In the wake of such media reports, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) through its Disciplinary mechanism had immediately initiated suo moto action in the matter. Hearing in 5 cases, where information was available against Chartered Accountants who had been named in the media reports was conducted on fast track mode.

After following due process, the Board of Discipline of ICAI has found 4 Chartered Accountants guilty of misconduct under the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act. The remaining one case where further information is awaited shall also be concluded shortly.