Smart Banking Ideas for a Smart City - Navi Mumbai

Leading Bankers shared innovative suggestions at the forum

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), in its endeavor to engage with enlightened minds for the Smart City Mission, held a Smart Banking Connect at NMMC Headquarter, Belapur on Thursday evening. The NMMC sought bright ideas and suggestions from the city’s banking community for seeking avenues for smart banking for the citizens.

The event witnessed the presence of esteemed banking organizations like Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, SBM, Indus Ind Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank.

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation was represented by the Chief Accounts and Financial Officer D.M. Garad and Chief Auditor Suhas Shinde. Members present were enlightened on how Smart City Navi Mumbai can bring about a drastic change in the lives of residents due to improved banking.

The session was followed by the banking fraternity sharing ideas of smart banking for the smart city. Some of them included introducing incentives on e-payment of bills, collection of bills through mobile bank vans, smart gadgets and correspondents that can collect payment of the bills from slum and village areas. An idea of a smart mobile application and a smart NMMC card for payment of water, electricity, property bills etc from one point was discussed.

The Smart City Challenge is designed to inspire greater creativity from municipal officials and their partner ecosystem. The challenge invites for a more evolved ‘Citizen-Civic’ engagement, along with an overall development of proposals that will produce concrete benefits in people’s lives.

NMMC Seeks Smart Ideas From Engineers

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), in its endeavor to engage with enlightened minds for the Smart City Mission, held a workshop at The Institution of Engineers, Belapur on the evening of 19th November, 2015.

The NMMC sought bright ideas and suggestions from the engineers present and their whole-hearted participation.The institutions present included The Institute Of Town Planners, The Indian Institute of Architects, The Institute of Company Secretaries Of India, The Vaikuntha Mehta Institute for Decentralized Industries, The Indian Institute of Materials Management and The Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering.

NMMC Chief Engineer Mohan Dagaonkar presented the achievements of the civic body and consulted engineers, architects and other leading fraternity on the Smart City Projects. He listed few challenges faced by NMMC like strengthening public transport system, providing adequate parking facility, ensuring citizen safety and maintaining high-growth trajectory for economic development.

Members gave their opinions on various projects. Those present were enlightened on how Smart City Navi Mumbai can bring about a drastic change in the lives of residents due to improved infrastructure and lifestyle.

The present event upholds NMMC’s broad vision to make Navi Mumbai the future city by setting the stage for knowledge sharing with specialists.

The Smart City Challenge is designed to inspire greater creativity from municipal officials and their partner ecosystem. The challenge invites for a more evolved ‘Citizen-Civic’ engagement, along with an overall development of proposals that will produce concrete benefits in people’s lives.

Dagaonkar said, “NMMC aims to establish Navi Mumbai as an exemplar for both citizens as well as other cities around the world to emulate. A place where everything we want to achieve will come together: eco-friendly and sustainable environs, efficient infrastructure and an enviable lifestyle.”

The Navi Mumbai civic body has asked residents to send suggestions for smart city to the following address:
Municipal Commissioner, NMMC head office, plot no1, opposite Killa gaothan, sector 15A, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 400614.

Newgen Software Supports Union Bank Central Processing Centre

Newgen Software, a leading global provider of Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), Customer Communication Management (CCM), and Adaptive Case Management (ACM) solutions is pleased to announce its partnership with Union Bank of Nigeria to power the Bank’s Central Processing Centre (CPC) using the Newgen solution suite. Newgen as technology partner has provided the bank with cutting edge technology which will enable the bank provide better customer service and expedite customer facing processes.

Speaking on the CPC, Mr. Lucky Jayaratne, Executive Director (Operations & Technology) Union Bank said, “We selected Newgen Omniflow as the most suitable for our CPC and we are happy with the outcome of that decision. It has enabled our initiative of centralized processing of transactions from our network of branches successful.”

Mr. Diwakar Nigam MD & CEO, Newgen Software expressed his views saying “We are glad to support Union Bank of Nigeria as their mainstay for central processing centre. Our solution demonstrates the value financial captives can derive by using a single, easy to use platform to automate their critical business processes. With using our BPM solution, Union Bank can achieve intuitive collaboration with multiple systems & core business areas for better engagement with its large pool of customers”.

Mr. Segun Lamidi, Senior Operations Head of the Bank, who led this implementation, mentioned “With the integration of the Newgen software with our Centralized Processing Centre, we have now put in place end-to-end automation of the account opening, account management and funds transfer processes, effectively enabling us open instant accounts and improve our turnaround time in servicing customers who visit any Union Bank branch or touch point. The Newgen team employed global best practices combined with local knowledge to deliver this world-class solution to Union Bank. We are pleased with the collaboration and partnership.”

DreamTrips Vacation Club is “Asia’s Leading Travel Club” … Again

For the second consecutive year, DreamTrips™ Vacation Club has been named “Asia’s Leading Travel Club,” claiming three of nine regional honors bestowed by World Travel Awards (WTA) so far in 2015. The announcement came yesterday during WTA’s Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony at InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. Model and media personality, Vanessa Yeung, emceed the event, which drew hundreds of industry luminaries, government officials and global media.

“On the heels of WorldVentures™ having opened our Asian Corporate Headquarters in Singapore, this honor is especially affirming,” said WorldVentures Co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer Wayne Nugent. “Asia is driving growth in the travel industry and we’re honored to offer customers quality travel experiences in this vibrant, culturally rich region of our world.”

World Travel Awards is the travel industry's most prestigious awards programme, rewarding leaders in all sectors of the global tourism industry. Last year, DreamTrips won four regional awards in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony is the sixth stop on the annual Grand Tour, which began in Dubai earlier this year and concludes in December with the Grand Finals in Morocco.

Cedar Rapids Welcomes New DreamCourt for Area Kids

Dreams deferred are not dreams denied as proven yesterday, when three years of fundraising came to fruition with the grand opening of DreamCourt™ at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids – Polk Alternative Education Center. DreamCourts are top-quality, multipurpose play spaces built in lower-income communities to promote fitness and fun, thanks to a collaboration among WorldVentures Foundation™, Nancy Lieberman Charities and Sport Court^®. Local dignitaries, event sponsors and community members gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, held from 4 to 6 p.m.

“As the second-largest city in Iowa, Cedar Rapids has the distinction of being one of the nation’s best places to live. But we know big cities often house big challenges for children. We’re humbled to help provide a safe place for area children to play and grow socially so they can compete on every level,” said Gwyneth Lloyd, executive director of WorldVentures Foundation.

WorldVentures Foundation is a dedicated, national partner of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and leads Volunteer Days at clubs throughout North America. Eddie Head, president of WorldVentures, cut the ceremonial ribbon at the Cedar Rapids opening, unveiling a two-hoop, 35-by-65-foot DreamCourt with Sport Court’s SportGame high-performance safety surface and bright blue and orange accents. Of 21 DreamCourts built to date, 13 are located at Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide.

“We are honored and thrilled to be a recipient of a new basketball court through the Nancy Lieberman Foundation and World Ventures Foundation,” said John Tursi, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids. “Our kids will be able to use this beautiful, new court for many years.”

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman, founder and chairwoman of Nancy Lieberman Charities, was unable to attend due to her obligations as assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings, but she shared her sentiments with the audience through a letter read by Lloyd.

“I am living the dream that every one of the kids who will play on this court will have one day. I'm proud to be in Sacramento making history as only the second woman to coach in the NBA. But history doesn't mean anything unless we open the doors for others to fulfill a dream.” 

Aftermarket IT Solutions Specialist Atarw Technologies Receives $2 Million from Quest Informatics

Atarw Technologies, a B2B specialist company offering world-class Aftermarket Products, Engineering Services, Technical Publication, Customised Software Product Development & ITES, today announced they have received $2 million initial funding by Quest Informatics.

Atarw Technologies aims to become a market leader in $290 billion aftermarket IT solutions industry. As per industry reports, Analysts believe OEMs, brands and product manufacturers will need to adopt a strong aftersales strategy which would provide them with new sources of predictable revenues.

Speaking on the occasion, Channabasavanna H Sharanappa (fondly known as Mr. Channa), an industry veteran & Founder CEO, Atarw Technologies said, “For a start-up, Atarw’s product offerings are quite a large platter. Powered by a team of industry specialists, who envision a grand start-up, Atarw is keen on building a culture of excellence in its working environment and employee philosophy. The depth of Atarw’s products and services and the culture of Atarw are primarily the factors that influenced my decision to move to Atarw full-time from Wipro. At a time when majority of start-up space is filled with B2C companies, Atarw stands out, as it is a world class B2B company.”

Field Service Management (FSM), Aftermarket ERP, Electronic Parts Catalogue, Support Desk, Remanufacturing, Customer Service Agreement, Training Portal, Float Management, Tools Management, Bay Management Systems offered by Atarw Technologies is widely being subscribed by customers across regions.

Atarw Technologies has made its products available on multiple devices and incorporated technologies like RFID, GPS, Mobile, and SMS integration.

Congratulating Atarw Technologies on the award, Suraj Godse, Research Analyst, Best Practices, Frost & Sullivan, said, “While the average lifetime of automotive and construction equipment products is around 10-15 years, many OEMs do not have systems and processes to capitalize on after sales. Companies have realized the importance of creating an effective aftermarket strategy and relationship with their clients. With strong industry experience and proven domain expertise, Atarw Technologies has successfully catered to some Fortune 500 automotive and construction equipment majors with its robust aftermarket products and services. Atarw Technologies helps clients to constantly monitor sales progress, product development and life cycle management. Atarw Technologies clients stand to benefit from improved aftermarket revenue, surge in customer response and satisfaction even in the current tough market conditions. Atarw Technologies has emerged as a leader in providing strong customer value to its clients through aftermarkets IT support services.”

With its robust product knowledge and domain expertise, the new start-up expects to scale up quickly offering multiple products, solutions and consulting for both domestic and international market.