UltraTech Wins FICCI Indian Circular Economy Award 2021
Efforts to accelerate its business towards a circular model recognised as most innovative and impactful
UltraTech Cement Limited, the largest manufacturer of grey cement, white cement and ready-mix concrete in India, has won Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Indian Circular Economy Award (ICEA), 2021. UltraTech has been declared as a joint winner in the Large Enterprise category. As a joint winner in the Large Enterprise category, the award appreciates UltraTech’s efforts to accelerate its business towards a circular model and identifies the Company as most innovative and impactful in its practices.
Organised by FICCI, ICEA is India’s most prestigious award, exclusively dedicated to circular economy. The Awards ceremony was held virtually on 25th November and the winners were announced in the presence of Mr. Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog). ICEA aims to reward and recognize achievements and success of organizations or individuals involved in catalysing innovations through their strategies and creative approaches. The award recognises notable contributions made towards building a circular economy and a sustainable future
UltraTech is committed to driving sustainability across the value chain of its operations. The focus areas are decarbonisation, circular economy, biodiversity management, water positivity, safe operations and community development.
Building a Circular Economy Model UltraTech is committed to driving sustainability across the value chain of its operations. The focus areas are decarbonisation, circular economy, biodiversity management, water positivity, safe operations and community development.
UltraTech has developed systems at its unit locations to utilize waste materials safely and efficiently following the principles of circular economy. UltraTech uses industrial waste and municipal solid waste as alternative fuel in its kilns through co-processing. Currently, UltraTech supports 80 municipal corporations across India by helping them reduce the waste headed for landfills. UltraTech also uses industrial waste such as fly ash, gypsum and slag as substitute for naturally occurring limestone in the cement manufacturing process. Recently, UltraTech’s R&D teams patented the process of using red mud, an Aluminium industry waste product, replacing natural raw materials in the cement manufacturing process
UltraTech’s Circular Economy Highlights
• 10+ million tCO2 annual savings due to utilization of waste material
• 18.36% of raw material consumed in FY21 was recycled material
• 120+ million tons of industrial waste repurposed in last decade
• 2.2 times Plastic Positive as of FY21
TCS to Help South32 Enhance its IT Operating Model for Greater Resilience and Agility
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, has been selected as a strategic partner by South32, a global mining and metals company, to enhance its IT operating model and provide application and infrastructure services critical to its global operations, strengthening its operational resilience and business agility.
The multi-year managed services partnership builds on the relationship TCS has had with South32 to enable accelerated execution of recent divestiture programs, and track employee health and safety at South32’s global mining sites during the pandemic. Under the new contract, management of critical infrastructure that was previously managed by multiple service-providers has been consolidated with TCS, driving end-to-end accountability
As part of the expanded partnership, TCS will leverage its Machine First™ Delivery Model, powered by ignio™ AIOps and ignio ERPOps to enhance South32’s IT operating model. Leveraging AI and machine learning, TCS will infuse self-healing capability and greater resilience in the IT stack consisting of ERP and other corporate applications, operational technology, and the underlying infrastructure. TCS will also provide a unified service desk for all South32’s operations in Australia, with immediate assistance from on-location IT staff.
The new IT operating model will assist South32 in reaching itsstrategic objective ofstandardising,simplifying, and streamlining its IT operations.
“To achieve our strategic goal, it is imperative that we work with partners who have the global network aligned to South32 operations and offer the breadth of services required for an organisation like ours,” said Sara Braund, Vice President, Digital Technology, South32. “In TCS we found a partner who understood our vision of simplification and had proven experience in establishing a resilient technology foundation.”
“The mining industry is embarking on digital transformation journeys to drive greater productivity, health and safety, and environmental sustainability. Foundational to all this is a resilient and future-proof digital core that will provide the flexibility, agility and resources needed to sustain their transformation journeys,” said Seema Mehra, Head, Energy & Resources – UK, Europe and ANZ, TCS. “We are delighted to partner with South32, and use our technology expertise, domain knowledge, innovation and our ability to contextualize our digital assets with cross industry knowledge, to transform their IT operations globally.”
HCL Technologies Expands its Presence in Sri Lanka with the Opening of a New Facility at ‘The Offices’ in Cinnamon Life
HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, opened its new facility at the state-of-the-art Cinnamon Life complex. HCL continues to expand and grow in Sri Lanka and this new facility will be its largest in the country, accommodating 4,000 employees
HCL entered Sri Lanka in 2020 with the aim to make it a global technology and IT services delivery hub for some of the largest corporations in the world. In continuation with its commitment to build first class capabilities and create local employment, HCL intends to occupy 80% of Cinnamon Life, a project by John Keels, with plans of taking up 10 floors now and 10 floors at a later stage. The architectural design and world class interiors of HCL’s new development center has been delivered by Tikri Bibile Associates (TBA), supported by WIDAC Commercial Interiors Pvt Ltd and Leema Associates. From this new development HCL will provide IT services to global clients in the areas of digital applications and system integration services, product development and support, and infrastructure management services including digital workplace solutions.
The Honorable Finance Minister of Sri Lanka, Basil Rajapaksa and His Excellency Gopal Baglay, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, inaugurated the office in the presence of Prateek Aggarwal, Chief Financial Officer, HCL Technologies, Srimathi Shivashankar, Corporate Vice President, HCL Technologies, and Krishnan Balendra, Chairman, John Keels.
“As a nation, we are thankful for the opportunities HCL continues to offer our youth and make them global IT professionals,” said Basil Rajapaksa, Honorable Finance Minister of Sri Lanka. “The company’s commitment and growth drive in Sri Lanka are also reflective of the long-term business resilience of Colombo’s ascent as a commercial hub in South Asia. I take this opportunity to congratulate the management of HCL Technologies and extend my very best wishes.”
“We are delighted to welcome HCL as the anchor commercial tenant for ‘The Offices’ at Cinnamon Life, and to provide a platform for their growth in Sri Lanka,” said Krishnan Balendra, Chairman, John Keels. “HCL will most certainly add tremendous value to the Cinnamon Life development and community. The team at HCL will experience the full benefit of working in our landmark integrated development with the conveniences of the hotel, mall, residential and convention facilities just a few steps away.”
“Since the time HCL entered into Sri Lanka, it has been on a growth path,” said His Excellency Gopal Baglay, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. “It is extremely heartening to see how HCL is not only building a talent pool in the country but also working to create thousands of jobs for Sri Lankan youth and bringing global opportunities to Sri Lanka.”
“Sri Lanka is one of HCL’s key global delivery hubs and we are very excited to continue expanding our operations in the country with the opening of our new office here,” said Prateek Aggarwal, Chief Financial Officer, HCL Technologies
In Sri Lanka, HCL Technologies recently surpassed a milestone of recruiting more than 1,000 local employees, including recent graduates and seasoned industry professionals.
“With Cinnamon Life’s strategic location at the heart of Colombo, this iconic signature structure reflects of HCL as a next-generation global technology company that constantly reimagines business for a digital age,” said Srimathi Shivashankar, Corporate Vice President, HCL Technologies
ROYAL ENFIELD STRENGTHENS COMMITMENT TO ASIA-PACIFIC REGION AS THAILAND CKD UNIT COMMENCES OPERATIONS
Royal Enfield, the global leader in the mid-size motorcycle segment (250 - 750cc), today announced commencement of operations of its exclusive Local Assembly Unit and CKD facility in Thailand, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs. Set up in partnership with GPX, this announcement is a significant boost to the company’s business in South-East Asia, and further reiterates Royal Enfield’s commitment to the Asia Pacific Region. With this, the company now has three local CKD (Completely Knocked Down) units - in Argentina, and Colombia in Latin America, and in Thailand - in addition to the three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India.
Royal Enfield, the global leader in the mid-size motorcycle segment (250 - 750cc), today announced commencement of operations of its exclusive Local Assembly Unit and CKD facility in Thailand, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs. Set up in partnership with GPX, this announcement is a significant boost to the company’s business in South-East Asia, and further reiterates Royal Enfield’s commitment to the Asia Pacific Region. With this, the company now has three local CKD (Completely Knocked Down) units - in Argentina, and Colombia in Latin America, and in Thailand - in addition to the three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India.
Speaking about the start of operations of the Thailand CKD Plant, B Govindarajan, Executive Director, Royal Enfield, said, “Royal Enfield has been working extensively to grow and expand the middleweight motorcycling segment globally. With a strategic view to grow the business and cater to increasing demand we have been pursuing our plans to set up local assembly units in priority markets beginning with Argentina in 2020 and then Colombia earlier this year. Continuing this journey and marking a first for us in the Asia Pacific region, we are very happy to announce the commencement of operations at the CKD assembly plant in Thailand. A testament to our commitment to the region and the market potential, and to our growing community of riding enthusiasts, this facility will enable us to efficiently cater to the growing demand in the Asia-pacific region, and also become the hub for the rest of Southeast Asian markets.”
Thailand has been a critical market for Royal Enfield since the brand’s market foray in 2015. Having made significant strides in the country and the APAC region, Royal Enfield is now amongst the top five players in the premium, mid-size motorcycle segment in markets such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Korea. With a burgeoning consumer base in Asia Pacific, and a significant retail network in the region, the new local assembly unit will be a critical boost for business growth in Southeast Asia.
Airtel conducts India’s First 5G trial in the 700 MHz band in partnership with Nokia
The demo conducted using 5G Standalone (SA) mode, achieves the highest broadband
coverage of 40 Km between two 5G test sites
The trial, conducted on the outskirts of Kolkata, underscores 5G’s potential to take mobile
broadband coverage to even the remotest corners of India
Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider, today said that it has successfully conducted India’s first 5G trial in the 700 MHz band in partnership with Nokia. Airtel has been allotted test spectrum in multiple bands by the government’s Department of Telecommunications for the validation of 5G technology and use cases.
Leveraging the enhanced propagation characteristics of the 700 MHz band, Airtel and Nokia were able to achieve high speed wireless broadband network coverage of 40 Km between two 3GPP standard 5G sites in real life conditions. Airtel used equipment from Nokia’s 5G portfolio, which included Nokia AirScale radios and standalone (SA) core
Randeep Singh Sekhon, CTO – Bharti Airtel said: “Back in 2012, Airtel launched India’s first 4G service in Kolkata. Today, we are delighted conduct India’s first 5G demo in the coveted 700 MHz band in the city to showcase the power of this technology standard. We believe that with the right pricing of 5G spectrum in the upcoming auctions, India can unlock the digital dividend and build a truly connected society with broadband for all.”
Naresh Asija, VP and Head of Bharti CT, Nokia, said: “5G deployment using 700Mhz spectrum is
helping communications service providers across the world to cost-effectively provide mobile
broadband in remote areas, where typically it is challenging for them to set up the network
infrastructure. Nokia is at the forefront in the development of the global 5G ecosystem, and we look
forward to supporting Airtel on its 5G journey.”
Airtel is spearheading 5G in India. Earlier this year Airtel demonstrated India’s first 5G experience over
a live 4G network. It also demonstrated India’s first rural 5G trial as well as the first cloud gaming
experience on 5G. As part of #5GforBusiness, Airtel has joined forces with leading global consulting
and technology companies and brands to test 5G based solutions
Aurionpro announces major win in smart transit space, bags order from the Government of Uttar Pradesh
Aurionpro is pleased to announce another big win in the smart transit segment. This will be amongst the largest in the world with approximately 50 crores commuters travelling annually. Aurionpro will be the system integrator for implementing “IoT based Integrated Bus ticketing System” for the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) on a Build Own Operate and Transfer('BOOT') model. The project is expected to be worth more than INR 60 crores, over 5 years, with the minimum guaranteed revenue. The tenure of the project includes implementation and go-live within 6 months from the signing of the contract followed by the operations & maintenance of upto 7 years after go-live.
Mr. Sanjay Bali - EVP, Aurionpro thanked the Government of Uttar Pradesh for choosing Aurionpro and said that this win is significant from strategic perspective. Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India and the project of this magnitude will boost our credentials globally. After Delhi and Haryana win of UP will firmly place us as a leader in the Indian markets. Aurionpro’s cutting edge technology and powerful ABT based platform makes it attractive and cost effective for us to be treated as the preferred partner. With the string of wins over last few months and the strong pipeline we are emerging as a strong global player in this rapidly expanding space.”