Bengaluru, May 21 (IANS) As online grocery delivery market surges in the country, e-commerce platform Flipkart on Tuesday said it has clocked 1.6 times growth (year-on-year) in its grocery business, with more than half of deliveries being carried out using electric vehicles (EVs).

Flipkart Grocery offers next-day deliveries in over 200 cities, including tier 2 and beyond towns and cities.

“As we expand our footprint and enhance our service offerings, we remain dedicated to delivering unparalleled convenience to millions of customers across India,” said Hari Kumar G, Vice President, Head of Grocery, Flipkart.

While essential staples such as oil, ghee, atta, tea, coffee, detergents and personal care saw 1.6 times growth, the company said it also witnessed strong growth across essential and non-essential items, with an increase in liquid detergents by 1.8 times, dry fruits by 1.5 times and energy drinks by 1.5 times, among others.

Led by e-grocery, India’s quick commerce market is set to witness 15 times growth by 2025, reaching a market size of nearly $5.5 billion, according to market research firm Redseer.

Flipkart has launched 16 grocery fulfillment centres across key locations in the country which serve 66,000 grocery orders per day.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) German luxury car manufacturer Audi on Tuesday launched a new car — Q7, under its Bold Edition, in India at Rs 97,84,000 (ex-showroom).

With limited units available, the Audi Q7 comes available in four exterior colours — Glacier White, Mythos Black, Navarra Blue & Samurai Grey.

“With the launch of this Bold Edition, we are offering our customers an even more exclusive variant packed with distinctive styling elements that amplify its road presence,” Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India, said in a statement.

“The Audi Q7 Special Edition is designed for those who want to make a powerful statement and discover the perfect synthesis of comfort, sophistication, and cutting-edge technology,” he added.

The Bold Edition boasts a gloss black grille, black Audi rings in the front and rear, black window surrounds, black ORVMs and black roof rails.

The new car comes powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system, which produces 340 hp (horsepower) and 500 Nm (Newton metre) torque.

The top speed of the vehicle is 250 km/hr and accelerates from 0-100 km/hr in a quick 5.6 seconds. It offers seven drive modes — Auto, Comfort, Dynamic, Efficiency, Off-Road, All-Road and Individual.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), under the Ministry of Education, on Tuesday joined hands with Skillible, a technology platform for experiential learning, to launch a novel initiative SAMBAV (Skillible’s Academic Model for Business-To-Academic Ventures) to upskill and reskill 1 million students and professionals in new-age technologies in India.

The SAMBAV programme will initially offer specialisation in software development, Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, and salesforce development, with ambitious plans to expand into additional high-demand technology domains, ensuring students remain at the forefront of emerging trends and innovations.

“Through SAMBAV, we are paving the way for a future where technical education transcends traditional boundaries, empowering students to become architects of innovation and catalysts of progress,” said Ankur Goel, Founder of Skillible.

This first-of-its-kind programme, which offers an industry-aligned curriculum, project-based learning, virtual internships, interactive sessions and continuous evaluation, is poised to redefine technical education and equip 1 million students/professionals with industry-relevant skills.

AICTE noted that its internship portal with 4.8 crore registered students and 48 lakh internships will complement the SAMBAV initiative, providing practical exposure to students.

AICTE will help “nurture a future-ready workforce that can drive innovation, spur growth, and propel the technology sector to new heights,” said Chandrasekhar Buddha, Chief Coordinating Officer, AICTE.

Upon successful completion of the comprehensive programme, participants will be awarded a jointly issued certification from Skillible and AICTE, serving as a testament to their industry readiness, technical proficiency, and commitment to excellence.

The completion of the programme will also earn the learners credit points as per the norms set by the Ministry of Education, the company said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Drone company AVPL International on Tuesday announced a collaboration with the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) to begin drone spray operations across an expansive 50 lakh acres, spanning eight states including Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The partnership promises to revolutionise the distribution of agricultural products, potentially boosting crop yields by up to 20 per cent while also reducing environmental impact.

The initiative will drive substantial growth in agricultural productivity and sustainability across targeted regions.

“We are excited to join hands with IFFCO on this transformative journey. Our vision is to revolutionise agriculture through cutting-edge technology, and this partnership enables us to deliver advanced drone solutions to millions of farmers, thereby boosting productivity and championing sustainable farming practices,” said Deep Sihag Sisai, Founder & Managing Director of AVPL International.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AVPL and IFFCO outlines a strategic roadmap for the phased deployment of drone spray operations, tailored to different crops and terrains, ensuring comprehensive and effective coverage across the targeted acreage.

The partnership, under the innovative “drones as a service” (DAAS) model, aims to make advanced drone technology accessible to farmers at an unprecedented scale.

With an estimated investment exceeding $50 million, supplemented by government subsidies, the initiative is poised to stimulate agricultural innovation and drive economic development in rural areas, paving the way for a surge in opportunities for employment in drone operations and maintenance, AVPL said.

Recently, the government’s Namo Drone Didi initiative has trained several rural women to become drone pilots for agricultural purposes, which also targets to boost economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women.

The initiative aims to equip 15,000 women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with agricultural drones to assist in tasks such as crop monitoring, spraying fertilisers, and sowing seeds.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Amid the surge in unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) or spam voice calls on mobile phones, the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) on Tuesday urged the government to ensure a level-playing field in regulatory compliance requirements between telecom service providers (TSPs) and other messaging platforms providing similar communication services.

While the industry continues to assist the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Consumer Affairs in addressing the spam calls and SMSs menace, the top industry body said it looks forward to progressive action from the authorities.

Under the TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) the industry has developed various modules, which have been “reasonably successful” considering the noticeable decline in the volume of spam originating from SMSs over the last couple of years.

“However, UCC from voice calls, is still an issue that the regulator and TSPs are working together to address,” said Lt Gen Dr SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI.

The issue involves multiple stakeholders — TSPs, telemarketers, aggregators, principal entities (PEs) like banks, financial institutions and real estate agencies.

“TSPs are currently working on bringing a few more models to address the issue of UCC through voice calls. The government has allocated the 140 series for promotional voice calls and has now prescribed the 160 series for transactional and service voice calls,” informed Kochhar.

These modules are being worked upon and designed under discussions between all TSPs and technology partners and will be implemented by TSPs in the coming months, he added.

Further, the digital consent acquisition (DCA) framework is an important module developed by the TSPs, wherein PEs are required to digitally take explicit consent from the users for sending commercial/business communications.

TSPs are trying to engage and onboard various PEs to implement the DCA framework.

The committee formed by the Department of Consumer Affairs is working to prepare draft guidelines under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to safeguard consumers from unwarranted commercial communications.

“We believe that these guidelines, once notified, will be helpful in addressing the menace of UCC substantially as it will put a deterrence on the unregistered telemarketers,” said COAI.

–IANS

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