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Saturday, October 25, 2025 10:07 PM

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Talentedge’s owner takes stake in upGrad at $2 Bn value after integration

UpGrad, an edtech firm, announced on Thursday that it has integrated all of Talentedge’s business, which will now operate under its own brand, after its owner, Sekhsaria Family Office, acquired a $2 billion stake in the company. UpGrad stated in December of last year that it will acquire Gurugram-based edtech rival Talentedge for Rs 350-400 crore. The near 100 percent share swap transaction was done at an upGrad value of $2 billion, while Talentedge was valued at Rs 205 crore. According to the company, Talentedge is on track to achieve a gross revenue of Rs 150 crore in the coming fiscal year. “Talentedge integrated inside upGrad will be a formidable combination that will be very value accretive for both,” said Narayanan V who leads private investments at Sekhsaria Family Office, owner of Talentedge. For degree programmes, Talentedge has partnered with leading universities. “The coming together of Talentedge with upGrad cements our leadership position in India’s lifelong learning market and we see great synergies, cost savings and our ability to scale and consolidate,” said Mayank Kumar, cofounder and MD, upGrad. UpGrad was founded in 2015 and now boasts a learner base of over two million people from over 100 countries, as well as over 300 university partners. It has offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, the Middle East, India, Singapore, and Vietnam, as well as a presence in a number of other countries. Source: Economic Times

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E-learning and Conventional learning: An overview

Blog on Edu

India’s education system is frequently the subject of heated debate due to poor learning quality, obsolete curriculum, an over-reliance on rote learning, and a lack of suitable infrastructure. Even as our formal education system returns to physical campuses, e-learning is increasingly finding its way into our classrooms. An increasing number of educational institutions are warming up to the concept of embracing new digital tools to develop a future-ready education system, much as much else in our life, from shopping to entertainment, from investment to travel, goes online. Schools and colleges around the country are finding significant value in the digital format of education and want to continue with some of its elements, from flipped classrooms to continuous feedback, virtual labs to discussion forums, online assessments to live sessions by industry experts. Technological tools are not only finding a place in the realm of online education, but they are also collaborating with traditional institutions to produce new kinds of education. Challenges in education have always existed; however, because Google knows everything, we need to shift our focus from knowing to learning. Because simply pouring more money isn’t working, metrics must change from inputs to outcomes. Differentiation and personalization are about making learning accessible to children by tapping into their motivations and skills, not about making things easier for them. Annual exams must give way to ongoing feedback in terms of assessment. Teachers’ content knowledge is not the same as their capacity to influence student learning. A continuum of preparation, repair, and upgrade is required for lifelong learning. Several flaws in classroom education can be mitigated with the use of educational technology. The government’s recent initiatives, such as making universities multidisciplinary, using an academic bank of credit to store credentials, promoting various MOOC platforms, overhauling the examination system to introduce a more inclusive continuous assessment system that tests students on their ability to apply what they’ve learned, teacher training on the use of digital teaching tools, and the launch of India Skills Online for skill training, all encourage students to improve their grades. Traditional learning and online learning are becoming increasingly blurred, with online resources such as e-exams, e-tutorials, live online projects, peer group discussions, online assessments, online mentorship, and internships being utilised to supplement classrooms. Institutes are utilising technological platforms to offer new disciplines such as digital marketing, cloud computing, cyber security, AI and machine learning, data science, and digital forensics in order to develop future-ready workers. Learning is becoming more engaging and immersive thanks to the use of gamification in many ways such as quizzes, leader boards, badges, and online games. Learning is more exciting and engaging when students use online learning technologies that encourage peer-to-peer learning by sharing learning materials, working on collaborative projects, exchanging ideas, and participating in group activities. Schools and institutions will be able to create tailored learning journeys for distinct learners based on their talents, preferences, and performance using data science and AI powered intelligent tutoring systems. Since providing hands-on learning for large groups of students may be difficult and expensive, the use of AR and VR within classrooms will dramatically improve immersive learning experiences. The use of technology to automate mundane duties would free up teachers to focus on tasks that are uniquely suited to humans, such as coaching, mentoring, and motivating learners. Because of time and space constraints, physical classroom systems frequently made this mistake. The promise of online education, which promised to break the tough trinity of cost, quality, and scalability, was not realised. With the widespread adoption of online learning in traditional classrooms, this is about to change. Finally, we can have an educational system that allows equal and great students to not only coexist but prosper.

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Tredence expands its presence in India with new AI delivery and R&D centres.

Tredence Inc, a leading data science solutions provider, today announced the opening of delivery centres in Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Chennai, which will be operational by May 2022 and have a total capacity of 1400 seats. Through the new delivery centres, the company will provide advanced analytics, data engineering, and data science solutions to retail, CPG, TMT, industrial manufacturing, and healthcare clients around the world. Tredence has been expanding its Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurugram offices by hiring engineering graduates, lateral recruits, and domain specialists. In the last year, the company has doubled its talent pool and now employs over 1600 people. This year, the company expects to hire another 500 people, increasing the total number of employees to nearly 2100 by the end of the year. The new centres, which use a hybrid flexible work model, can accommodate approximately 1400 employees, making them the company’s largest employee base. “Expanding our reach into new talent markets is a critical component of our growth plan. We plan to do so by constantly looking for top-tier talent in new regions and partnering with premier institutes like IIT Madras to focus on training and talent development. Through ASTHA (our hire, train and deploy model), we assist employees specializing in legacy technologies to modernize by providing them with data science and data engineering opportunities. Opening new offices and extending our presence in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Chennai is making strides in these directions,” said Shub Bhowmick, chief executive officer and co-founder of Tredence. “Expansion and addition of new India delivery centres signifies an exciting chapter for Tredence as we continue to build ground-breaking data science solutions for global industries. Setting up new delivery and talent centres in India reflects the momentum we are experiencing in the market and aligns with our growth imperatives. Bengaluru, Chennai and Gurugram offer a perfect springboard for tech companies looking to strengthen AI innovation and distributed agile delivery models,” said Harish Gudi, chief operating officer of Tredence. Beyond Possible is the company’s new brand identity and strategy, which reflects the company’s new go-to-market strategy and increasing emphasis on vertical-specific data science solutions.

Tredence expands its presence in India with new AI delivery and R&D centres. Read More »

The combined PVR-Inox pipeline has 2,000 screens and is expected to double in the next 7 years

Inox Leisure and PVR, which announced their merger last month, have a combined pipeline of 2,000 screens and plan to double that number in the next seven years with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore. In a Business Update Conference Call with investors after announcing the merger, Inox Leisure Director Siddharth Jain stated that the merged firm would invest capex of Rs 2.5 crore per screen as part of their expansion. PVR and INOX Leisure announced a merger on March 27 to form the country’s largest multiplex chain, with over 1,500 screens, to capitalise on prospects in tier III, IV, and V cities as well as developed markets. The combined entity will be known as PVR INOX Ltd, with existing screens continuing to be branded as PVR and INOX, respectively. PVR INOX will be the name of new theatres that operate after the merger, the firms said on March 27. “We have almost 2,000 screens in our pipeline combined,” Jain said in response to a question on the combined entity’s screen count. “Our stated goal is to double our size in the next seven years, which will require at least Rs 4,000 crore in CAPEX (capital expenditure) over the next seven years.” However, he added that only about 50 of the 2,000 screens may be competing with one another. “Even mall owners would not put it up across the road from each other because they know there is really no point doing that, and we have not looked at it that deeply, yet to see whether there are any places, which we may not go ahead with. We have not dug that deep into it,” Inox Leisure shared a transcript of the conference call with the bourses on Monday, quoting Jain. The new screen addition will be diverse and across tiers, he added. “It is not that we want to take the movie only to certain Indians. We want to take it everywhere wherever we have potential and there is a market,” Jain added. PVR has 871 screens spread across 181 locations in 73 cities, whereas INOX has 675 screens spread across 160 locations in 72 cities. According to the agreement, INOX will merge with PVR in a share swap ratio of 3 PVR shares for every 10 INOX shares. Following the merger, INOX promoters will join the existing PVR promoters as co-promoters in the merged entity. PVR promoters would own 10.62 percent of the merged firm, while INOX promoters will own 16.66 percent, according to the statement. Source: PTI

The combined PVR-Inox pipeline has 2,000 screens and is expected to double in the next 7 years Read More »

SEBI sets up committee to strengthen governance of stock exchanges, other market institutions

SEBI, the capital markets regulator, set up a committee on Monday to review and make recommendations for improving governance norms at stock exchanges and other market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). The news comes amid allegations of corporate governance failures at the NSE, with various issues surfacing following a SEBI order revealing the presence of a ‘Himalayan yogi’ who influenced the exchange’s previous MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna’s decisions. Apart from that, Ramkrishna had discussed with the yogi various internal confidential information, including as the NSE’s financial and business strategies, dividend scenario, and financial outcomes, and even consulted him on the exchange’s employee performance appraisals. According to a statement, G Mahalingam, a former whole-time member of SEBI, would chair the six-member committee. MD and CEOs of stock exchanges NSE and BSE, as well as depositories NSDL and CDSL; J N Gupta, MD of Stakeholders Empowerment Services; Aarti Nihalani, Partner, Oliver Wyman; Sandip Bhagat, Partner, S&R Associates; and Uttam Bagri, former chairman, BSE Brokers Forum are the other members of the committee. The committee’s mandate includes offering recommendations on how to increase the role of MIIs’ governing boards and committees. In addition, the panel will examine the requirements for the appointment, role, and responsibility of board directors and Key Managerial Persons (KMPs), as well as the development of appropriate metrics for monitoring various aspects of MII and KMP operations. The committee will also improve accountability and transparency, evaluate the policy on the safekeeping and sharing of information held by MIIs, and revisit the governing board’s and KMPs’ codes of conduct and ethics. Source: PTI

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Siemens Healthineers expands manufacturing footprint in India with new line of CT scanners

Siemens Healthineers has announced that its manufacturing facility in India will be expanded. The company has launched a new production line (plant) for computed tomography scanners at its Bengaluru facility in order to accelerate the growth of the medical devices industry in the country. Medical devices have been chosen by the Indian government as a priority area for the flagship ‘Make in India’ programme. The Department of Pharmaceuticals launched a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme with the goal of boosting domestic manufacturing and attracting major investment in the Medical Device sector. Siemens Healthineers’ new production line in Bengaluru has been approved under the PLI scheme’s Radiology and Imaging Medical Devices segment. Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, with a committed investment of 91.9 crore for the manufacture of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, is one of the approved applicants for the PLI scheme. “We strongly believe in India’s growth story. The investor-friendly initiatives of the Government of India will give a fillip to the Indian Medical Device industry and the healthcare sector at large. Commencing operations of the new CT scanners production line is our first step in culminating the vision into a reality. It will go a long way in our quest of improving access to high-quality healthcare for all,” said, Vivek Kanade, Managing Director, Siemens Healthcare Private Limited. The PLI scheme, which has been bolstered by the Government of India’s (GoI) investor-friendly efforts, has provided the necessary momentum to India’s ambition of becoming a worldwide manufacturing hub for medical devices. Source: Economic Times  

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UP CM launches ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’, eyes 100% enrolment in primary schools

Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, launched the ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ on Monday, with the goal of achieving 100% enrolment in primary and upper primary schools across the state. “We have to give special emphasis on basic education. The campaign is being launched after two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It may happen that the children, who did not go to school, might be feeling lazy to return. But we have to ensure that no child is left out and all should be admitted to schools,” Adityanath said while addressing the gathering. According to him, 1.34 crore students were enrolled in basic education schools in 2017, and the scenario was “awavastha aur arajakta” (mismanagement and anarchy). The chief minister stated that the lack of basic amenities such as mid-day meals, toilets, drinking water, furniture, and smart classes “increased the dropout rate more than admissions.” According to Adityanath, the number of students in schools climbed to 1.80 crore in three years (till 2019), and students received free books, two uniform sets, shoes, socks, and sweaters as a result of the state government’s efforts. He urged everyone, including officials and public representatives, to join ‘Operation Kayakalp,’ which aims to give schools a facelift, and to adopt a school to offer basic facilities. He said that all activities had been halted owing to the coronavirus shutdown in 2020, which he said had primarily affected schools. “Now all activities have resumed. The Covid management of country was hailed worldwide. We have administered over 30 crore vaccines. We are providing free tablets and smartphones to students,” the chief minister said, adding that education was the only way to bring about change in society and strengthen the country. He stated that the initiative will last for the next month, with the goal of reuniting every student with their school. According to an official statement issued on Sunday, the chief minister had previously told officials that districts with low literacy rates should be prioritised, and primary schools in the state should be equipped with improved facilities. According to the statement, the ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ will begin in Shravasti district, which has the lowest literacy rate in the state, followed by Bahraich, Balrampur, Badaun, and Rampur. All government schools must also provide students with essential amenities such as toilets, drinking water, furniture, and smart classes, according to Adityanath. Under the ‘Operation Kayalalp,’ departmental authorities must launch a campaign to engage with alumni (of government schools) and private enterprises to improve state-run schools, he said. The basic education department has also been given orders to prepare for the ‘Abhiyan’ and ensure that teachers are deployed in all state-run schools, according to Adityanath. Source: PTI

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GST rate for COVID-19 medicines pegged at 5% GST: Govt

Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 medicines and instruments have been sold at a GST rate of 5%, while other medicines have been sold at a GST rate of between 5% and 12%, according to Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, who spoke in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The central government, according to Chaudhary, manages 66% of the country’s government-sponsored health insurance plans. “When the COVID-19 pandemic started, it was decided to sell all drugs at a GST rate between 5 and 12 percent, and the GST rate for COVID-19-related medicines and instruments was reduced to 5%,” he stated during Question Hour. According to the minister, the GST rate for health insurance is 18 percent, which is in line with international standards and comparable to the pre-GST period in the country. Senior citizens can get a tax rebate of up to Rs 1 lakh on health insurance premiums, according to him. According to Chaudhary, the GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprised of the Union Finance Minister and ministers nominated by respective state and union territory governments, prescribes GST rates and exemptions on all services (including GST on health insurance premiums). “At present, Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance services is levied at standard rate, i.e., 18 per cent. Specific health insurance schemes catering to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society and differently abled, such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Argoya Bima Policy and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are fully exempt from GST,” he said. Healthcare services, he added, are also excluded from the GST. The GST Council received representations to lower the GST on health insurance in its 31st meeting on December 22, 2018 and its 37th meeting on September 20, 2019. According to him, the GST Council did not offer a recommendation for a reduction in GST. Source: PTI

GST rate for COVID-19 medicines pegged at 5% GST: Govt Read More »

If society slips in recognising abilities of girls, it can never progress: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged society on Thursday to treat sons and daughters equally and to treat them as equals, claiming that if a society fails to recognise girls’ skills, it will never grow. PM Modi made these statements while responding to a question during a “Pariksha Pe Charcha” interaction with students, noting that things have evolved since a time when prejudice between males and girls was evident. In terms of new students, girls are expected to outnumber boys, he said, adding that every Indian may now be proud of the spirit and aspirations of girls. “Now, girls have become a big asset and strength for every family. The more this change occurs, the better it is,” he said. He noted that there was a time when many parents believed that their limited resources should be spent on sons so that they can take care of them later because they expected their daughters to not work and instead settle down in their in-laws’ house, but that while such a mindset still exists in some places, things have largely changed. In society, sons and daughters should be treated equally. “It’s a requirement of this era.” It is a requirement of every era,” the prime minister added, citing prominent female figures such as Ahilya Bai and Lakshmi Bai for their contributions to respective areas. He believes that equal opportunities for girls should be institutionalised, noting that they thrive in a variety of professions, from sports to science. He says that there are more women in parliament now than ever before, and that their numbers are growing in the police and security forces. He also says that girls consistently outperform boys in board exams. While women hold half of the elected panchayat seats in Gujarat, they have also been winning general seats, demonstrating society’s faith in their talents, he said. Modi also mentioned the enormous number of women working in the nursing and teaching areas, and joked that males might stage a rally demanding that their quotas be fixed. “If boys and girls are given an equal opportunity, then the latter may do better,” he said. According to the prime minister, he has witnessed daughters who do not marry in order to care for their parents, as well as parents who live in old age homes despite their sons leading a wonderful life away from them. Source: PTI

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India’s richest state Maharashtra to lift mask mandate from April 2

After a sharp drop in the number of active cases and deaths from COVID-19 in recent days, Maharashtra, India’s richest state and home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, will make wearing masks optional starting April 2. Masks had previously been required in all public locations in the state to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. On Thursday, Maharashtra’s health minister Rajesh Tope stated, “Wearing masks (will) not be compulsory, but people can wear one if they want.” By April 2, all restrictions on public venues, such as hotels, weddings, gyms, and buses, as well as the requirement to be twice vaccinated to enter public places, would be eliminated, according to Tope. So far, India has given out at least 1.84 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine. According to the Reuters COVID-19 tracker, assuming that each individual requires two doses, that would be enough to vaccinate 67.3 percent of the country’s population. Tope stated, “This will help people in celebrating upcoming festivals.” Source: Reuters

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