CollegeDekho closes Series B funding round with US$ 35 million

 

• Marquee Investors like Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital, Disrupt ADQ, QIC, Calega and existing investor Man Capital show their trust in CollegeDekho’s business model and strong offerings in higher education

Mumbai, Dec 01, 2021: CollegeDekho, India’s largest college admissions and higher education services platform, closes its Series B funding with Disrupt ADQ and QIC coming on board recently. The USD 35 million (~INR 260 crore) round has been led by Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital - the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL® tests and GRE® General Test), Calega and existing investor Man Capital. 

CollegeDekho is planning to use the funds to further improve its offerings for students and colleges both within India and Abroad. The company will increase its investment in products and technology while growing new verticals like Ed-Fin-Tech, student accommodation and coaching for higher Education. It is also considering expanding its study abroad services in global markets. The company will also use the funds raised for acquisitions and consolidation that make strategic sense.

Founded in 2015, CollegeDekho is on a mission to institutionalize students’ counselling in India. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based conversation bot. Its Common Application Form platform, which enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click, is largest of its kind in India. For Study Abroad students, CollegeDekho offers a full range of services from Profile Building, Test Preparation, to Application Assistance, University Selection and Visa Assistance.

CollegeDekho has recently launched innovative 0% EMI based education financing and insurance products to enable more and more students to get access to an education of their choice. The platform helps colleges by making their admissions more efficient and predictable. The company plans to build services to help students with higher education coaching as well as student accommodation services.

In his comments about closing of Series B funding, Mr. Ruchir Arora, Founder & CEO, CollegeDekho, said, “We believe that our sound business model, innovative products, our commitment to excellence in service delivery, and growing Student base continue to help us win the trust of investors who have global exposure and experience in higher Ed tech. Their participation in our growth story is a testimony that we are delivering on our mission of transforming the higher education journey of students. Following the fruitful completion of Series B funding, we will be expanding our team, and platforms to serve a larger number of students and colleges. We will also increase our investment in products and technologies, while fueling our growth in our new verticals such as education loans, student accommodation and coaching for higher ed. Even as we double down on our efforts to increase our reach in the Indian market, we will also consider expanding our presence abroad.”

In their comments the existing investors placed on record their hopes of the promising growth prospects of CollegeDekho. Mr. Anton Farlenkov, Managing Director at Winter Capital Advisors, said: “We are happy to welcome ADQ and QIC along with ETS Strategic Capital as our co-investor in CollegeDekho. We are convinced that partners as solid as these joining the pool of investors further strengthens the prospects of success for CollegeDekho and proves the value of investment in EdTech, which is poised to reach US$10 billion in size in the next 5-10 years, from about US$ 2.5 billion today. We see our investment in CollegeDekho as promising and well aligned with our strategy to expand our investment portfolio via dynamic, high-quality assets.”

“We continue to identify and invest in companies both domestically and internationally whose missions and long-term vision align with that of ETS,” said Ralph Taylor-Smith, Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital.

“We are pleased to see continued investment in College Dekho that furthers our shared goals of advancing access and equity in education for all learners around the globe” concluded Ralph.

Mr. Mohamed Mansour, Chairman of Man Capital, commented: “We are glad to have partnered with CollegeDekho’s founders since day one and delighted to have been joined by Winter Capital and ETS Strategic Capital along with ADQ and QIC as co-investors. We continue to believe and support the company’s vision. CollegeDekho is at the forefront of a rapidly expanding and growing Ed-Tech market in India. In addition to the exponential growth in college admission and wider India Ed-Tech market, we are also seeing a rise in integrated solutions for college students across the globe. We believe that CollegeDekho is very well positioned to expand its services and reach to become a leading global player over the coming years.”

The higher education market accounts for over 50% of the Indian education market. At US$ 135 billion in FY20 its larger than the K-12 market in value terms. With India's higher education Gross Enrollment Ratio targeted to grow to 50% in the next ten years along with the initiatives led by NEP, the higher education market is expected to grow at a fast pace over the coming years.

Note to the Editor: CollegeDekho had made an interim announcement on the initial amount secured in September 2021. With the fresh funding raised from new investors Disrupt ADQ and QIC, the startup has closed its Series B with $35mn.

About Winter Capital Partners (WCP) Investment Funds(www.wintercapital.com)

With total assets under management exceeding $1 billion, Winter Capital Partners (WCP) investment funds focus on private equity and venture capital investments globally. The funds invest in fast-growing technology companies in a number of selected verticals: healthcare, education, financial and consumer services.

About ETS Strategic Capital(www.ets.capital)

ETS Strategic Capital serves as the private equity investment and M&A execution arm for ETS, its subsidiaries and its partners, sourcing transactions within both the domestic United States and internationally. The unit partners with the broader Ed-Tech ecosystem to identify and execute deals, coordinate with other ETS business units to identify opportunities and needs, network with professional services firms with education expertise, and build direct relationships with businesses internationally — especially within Europe, Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa (MENA) regions. ETS Strategic Capital targets private equity investments that are typically in Series B, C or later; acquisitions that are middle-market in scale; and growth partnerships that may involve joint ventures (JVs), channel-affiliate or distribution agreements, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing and technology-transfer relationships. 

About ETS(www.ets.org)

At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions, and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a non-profit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. 

About Disrupt ADQ

DisruptAD, ADQ's venture platform, was launched to accelerate the future of innovation. The platform offers productive incubation, investment and commercial scaling opportunities for tech start-ups in a state-of-the-art infrastructure for a digital led age. DisruptAD aims to advance R&D and unleash the potential of the UAE’s innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem through highly skilled tech talent.

DisruptAD is attracting and creating a thriving community of founders, fund managers, incubators, and accelerators to globally build, support and scale disruptive technologies from Abu Dhabi.

About QIC

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) is a publicly listed insurer with a consistent performance history of over 50 years and a global underwriting footprint. It is the largest insurance company in the Middle East & North Africa region and carries an A/Stable rating by S&P.

About Calega
Calega is a family office based in Dubai & has diverse business interests - Logistics, oil & gas, distribution & Investments. Calega and its founder investor network collectively have been investing in early stage technology enabled ventures over the last few years including in the areas of Edtech, Consumer Tech, AI and B2B logistics.

About Man Capital(www.man-capital.com)

ManCapital is the investment arm of the Mansour Group, a global, family-owned conglomerate with over 60,000 employees, a presence in more than 100 countries and total revenues exceeding $7.5 billion. Its businesses operate across a large range of sectors including automotive, banking, consumer goods, education, healthcare, machinery & equipment, media, oil & gas, real estate, technology, and transport and logistics.

About CollegeDekho(www.collegedekho.com) 

CollegeDekho is India’s largest Ed-Tech platform for higher education services. Since its inception in 2015, CollegeDekho has counselled more than 2 million students and has helped almost 1000 colleges with their student recruitments. With more than 100 million sessions on its website in 2020, CollegeDekho is also proud of owning India’s largest common application form platform (CAF) which has serviced more than half a million applications by 2020. CollegeDekho also offers a full range of Study Abroad services from discovery to admission. The latest introduction of Ed-Fin-Tech offerings are powered by a simple vision to help each student get access to higher education of their choice.

Flexible Clothing For Millennials On-The-Move Hits E-commerce Platforms

Dennison Introduces its first range of High-Performance Versatile Use Power Dressing For Men 

The homegrown millennial friendly brand Dennison just made power dressing more flexible. This Diwali, redo your wardrobe with 360-degree stretchable trousers, anti-stain water repellent long wear shirts, plus size comfortable clothing, ankle length smart trousers and ethnic casuals. 

In a pocket-friendly budget, these low maintenance high performance garments work well for anyone on the go. The formal launch includes ethnic casual wear, Ewaist aka elastic waist trouser and the Stretchable shirts (for comfort and ease of waist change). Most of the stretchable garments facilitate universal wear, and work well for travel, work from home, business or party occasions.  

Speaking on the launch that went live on e-commerce platforms on October 01, 2021, Founder CEO Ashwani Seth says, “We have put a lot of thought into bringing out a range of clothing that works to serve the fashion and work needs of the Indian millennial. We have introduced plus size garments, keeping in mind that ‘every shape matters and it’s everyone's right to dress smart and feel good and fashionable.’ Our designing has been done keeping in mind, sensible buying that is low maintenance and fair to the environment.”

Price starts from Rs. 599. Products are available in subtle and office goers’ colors and in sizes 38-52 inches in more than 23 colors and patterns including bold colors, checks and stripes. 

About Dennison 

With origins in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Dennison is a 33 years old trusted name in the field of men’s clothing. Conceptualized by Mr. Rajendra Seth, since its inception in 1988, the brand has focused on its vision to make affordable readymade clothing for people. In 2014, Ashwin Seth the second-generation son, brought with him innovation, by branching out into an e-commerce model to provide wide accessibility for affordable formal and semi formal clothing to men and women. 

The company reported a whopping 150% growth rate in the pandemic financial years between 2019 and 2020. In FY21, Dennison Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) related sales amounted to Rs. 7Cr(plus). For the FY22, GMV sales Target has been pitched at Rs. 14 CR of which 5.5Cr has already been achieved. 

Going ahead, the brand is adding interesting clothing innovations to be positioned as the ‘most sustainable product in India,” both for men and women. 

CarDekho’s 1st Mega refurbishment center and customer service center comes up in Delhi NCR.

• The facility is a one-roof solution for all mechanical, electrical and body repair services.
• Cars sold on the CarDekho platform will be refurbed at the facility.
• Will offer quick repair turn around time, standardized repair process and cost optimization;
• Services offered for the cars bought with warranty  on the CarDekho platform and also for out of Warranty cars.
• Center has capacity to service  2000 cars monthly
• Plans to open 20 more such mega refurbishment center across India
• 

Mumbai, 1 December 2021: CarDekho Group, India’s leading auto-tech company, has opened its first-ever used car mega refurbishment center  in Gurgaon (NCR). The centre will take full control of the refurb process and set benchmark in terms of quality, through a controlled repair process using state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure, while optimising cost through scale of operations. The company plans to open 20 more such refurbishment center  across India in near future.

With a capacity of refurbishing 2000 cars per month, the refurbishment centre will employ around 100+ employees once fully operational.

Having an inhouse refurbishment centre will help the company control quality and ensure that all the cars sold to customers on the cardekho platformare of high quality.

CarDekho currently offers ‘No Questions Asked’ 7 days money-back guarantee where customers can test-own the car for 7 days, and get 100 percent refund if not satisfied. CarDekho also offers 6 months comprehensive warranty and Pan India Roadside assistance (RSA) to its customers. RC transfer is taken care of by CarDekho and free insurance is also bundled with the car.

The refurbishment centre aims to enhance the company’s service offerings and proximity to customers by conducting operations in all types of mechanical repairs and body repair. The mega refurbishment centre  is equipped with hitech pneumatic tools and equipment, 3D wheel alignment, wheel balancing, mechanised tyre changing, air conditioning service, injector and spark plug cleaning, fully mechanised body shop with electric dent pullers, double-action sanders with vacuum extractors, infrared heating machine and full functional heated Downdraft Paint Booth along with paint mixing facility for high-quality painting.

Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO CarDekho Group, said: “The opening of this mega refurbishment centre  marks another landmark in the company’s journey and our aim to provide the best in class pre-owned vehicles to our customers. The cars refurbished at this refurbishment centrewill carry CarDekho’s trust that offers reliability, affordability and unmatched satisfaction. This centre  integrates the Group’s best know-how and reinforces our vission to disrupt the personal mobility space in India.”

The cars refurbished at the Gurgaon refurbishment centre will be procured from the Delhi NCR region only and refurbished cars will be sold in the same market. The refurbished cars will set a benchmark for the refurbishment of used cars in the Indian auto industry.

About CarDekho Group  

CarDekho Group, headquartered in Jaipur, was founded in 2006 and has footprints in India and South-East Asia. The Group is a unicorn  with the last valuation of $1.2bn. It currently operates leading Indian auto portals - CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, PowerDrift.com. CarDekhoGaadi Store has  presence in 100+ markets across India where customers can sell their used cars. CarDekho currently has 3000+ certified pre-owned cars for customers to buy from its portal.  

The group is now recognized in India as the largest automotive video content player with 4 million+ hours viewed annually on YouTube, the largest consumer-facing digital destination with 55 million+ monthly unique visitors, and the largest auto social media platform. The company expanded its presence in Indonesia under the brand name OTO and has quickly become the number one auto portal in the country. It also acquired the Philippines operations of Carmudi thereby expanding its operations to two Southeast Asian countries.  

CarDekho has raised funding from marquee investors including Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Sunley House, CapitalG, Ping An, Leapfrog Investments, Canyon Partners, Times Internet, Mirae Asset, Kreatif Media Karya, Axis Bank, Franklin Templeton, ICICI Bank, Harbor Spring, Ratan Tata, HDFC Bank, Gaingels, Dentsu and Trifecta.

Dassani Brothers Uncover #BeatTheBlue Campaign, Welcoming Winter 2021

The Winter season also the coldest season in India has arrived bringing longer nights with chills and snowfall. Everyone chases their best comfortable state which makes it difficult during winters to find suitable jewellery pieces for multiple layered outfits that adds charm to one’s semblance. Prioritizing the trending deeds and relaxing needs, Dassani Brothers reveals the latest blue themed finely crafted winter collection #BeatTheBlue.
The classic winter collection comprises jewellery pieces including necklace, earrings and ring which entirely fits the winter attires. The theme of the jewellery collection is blue handcrafted by Dassani Brothers. Highlighting the stunning peacock themed pearl neckpiece that comes with earrings available for winter buyers. The designs will be exclusively available on www.dassanibrothers.com along with a suitable variety of jewellery pieces for the winter season. Customized designs are also available on special requests.
Describing the collection, Dilip Dassani, Partner at Dassani Brothers said, “It looks difficult to maintain the charm and chills together during the winter season and the reason for Dassani Brothers to launch the themed winter collection is to make it easier for the buyers to find suitable jewellery pieces for their winter outfits and stay more graceful and stylish to make all the good days special.”
About Dassani Brothers:
Dassani Brothers is one of India’s finest designer jewellery brands that specializes in semi- contemporary Jadau heirlooms. Originally from Bikaner, the brand defines over 30 years of legacy since its inception in Mumbai. Over time, they’ve expanded their services and built recognition for themselves in the industry with a list of esteemed clientele. Their core expertise lies in handcrafted heirloom jewellery such as Kundan, Meena, Polki encrusted in gold. Dassani Brothers semi- contemporary designs come with an assurance certificate and a lifelong buyback guarantee.

Medica breathes a new lease of life to the longest ECMO survivor in India

Mumbai, 1^st December, 2021: Medica Superspecialty Hospital, the largest private hospital chain in Eastern India has set yet another benchmark in patient care by reviving a highly critical patient through their ECMO support which has already earned national repute during COVID-19 with high patient survival ratio of over 50%. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a procedure wherein blood is pumped outside the body to a heart-lung machine which removes the carbon dioxide from the blood and oxygenates it before returning it to the body of the patient. ECMO is used in critical care situations and in recent times it is used in care for COVID-19, ARDS and other infectious diseases. Currently, Medica has the largest ECMO facility in India. Under the auspices of Dr. Kunal Sarkar, Senior Vice Chairman, Senior Cardiac Surgeon & Head (Medica Institute of Cardiac Sciences), ECMO team, headed by Dr. Arpan Chakraborty and Dr. Dipanjan Chatterjee, Mr. Deblal Pandit along with the highly skilled technicians and nurses ensured the patient survived the ordeal which turned into the longest ECMO survivor in India.

Smt. Mahasweta Kallat, suffered from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) owing to COVID when she was transferred from another city hospital in the EM Bypass in Kolkata on 9th August 2021 where she was on prone ventilator support but not improving. The team of doctors at Medica found that her Oxygen saturation level was weaning. Immediately she was administered ECMO support to gradually rescue her lungs that were already severely damaged was put on rest ventilation.

Elaborating about the miraculous recovery of Smt. Kallat, Dr. Arpan Chakraborty, ECMO Physician, Medica Superspecialty Hospital stated, “It is always a challenge to fight the battle when a Covid patient is already under distress owing to the deadly disease. We are fortunate enough, that finally Smt. Kallat, who along with us doctors, fought all the odds and could win this battle head on. An almost near recovery of her lungs is a positive sign with rest ventilation which was a time taking process. We are thankful to her family, friends, who have been supportive and equally participative with us in this longest battle with any patient successfully surviving on ECMO in India.”

For first six weeks of ECMO run, she was not awake due to encephalopathy for almost six weeks (damage or disease that affects the brain. It happens when there’s been a change in the way your brain works or a change in your body that affects your brain. Those changes lead to an altered mental state, leaving the patient in a confused state of mind). After that she started opening her eyes and interact gradually with family members. Her lungs also started improving in a prolonged protracted manner but was not able to exhale CO₂ properly. Ultimately, she was weaned off ECMO on 81st day on 28/10/2021. She was administered another month of ventilation. Slowly her ventilatory support was also withdrawn and with regular physiotherapy, she started moving to chair. She finally got discharged on 29.11.21 on day 112 from Medica to home with near-normal lungs recovery.

Dr. Kunal Sarkar, opined, “Medica has been achieving milestones in recuperating patients from near death situation due to our best and largest ECMO facility in India. We as doctors always want the best treatment to be administered to patients and in this case her recovery went on to record the longest any patient has stayed on ECMO support, recuperated, and discharged. She is one of the longest ECMO survivor in the country today and we wish her a healthy life ahead.”

Having set benchmarks in patient care, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, which has a world-class comprehensive cardiology and cardiothorasic surgery departments at the Kolkata facility is widely known for its excellence in cardiac care has now added another feather to its cap, after successfully managing the longest running ECMO treatment on any patient across India. It has become a one stop destination for all the modalities of extensive cardiac treatment facilities including coronary interventions, electrophysiology, structural heart disease, congenital cardiac disease, heart failure management, cardiac device therapy and heart transplantations.

About Medica Group of Hospitals:

Medica Group of Hospitals, one of the major and fast-growing chains of hospitals in Eastern India today, has built and managed numerous healthcare facilities across the Eastern region over the past few years. The healthcare chain launched its operations with Medica North Bengal Clinic (MNBC) in Siliguri in 2008 and soon followed up with its flagship Hospital – Medica Superspecialty Hospital (MSH) – in Kolkata in 2010. The group has footprints in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Assam.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission to release in India on 3rd December 2021

December 2021- PVR Pictures, as part of their exclusive deal with ODEX, the leading Japanese
animation film distributor in South East Asia, is pleased to bring My Hero Academia: World Heroes’
Mission to India. The first movie came out in 2018, with its part two coming out in 2019, both strike
phenomenal sales which exceeded the amount of 17 billion Japanese Yen. Not only within Japan, but
also popular in North America, Central America, Europe as well as Asia. It is fair to say that MHA is a
worldwide renowned IP. The greatly anticipated Movie 3 will for sure exceed the previous episodes
with a PLUS ULTRA scale, and it is going to show on big screen soon!

This time, the story goes beyond the strait, expanding to the rest of the world! Heroes are facing the

hardest mission in MHA’s history!

The story starts in the heroes’ winter internship. The mystery organization “Humarise” is planning to

annihilate every human with “Quirks”. To save them, Deku, Bakugo, Todoroki, and other U.A. High

students gather with Pro Heroes to form “The World-Selected Hero Team”, to save this world crisis. As

the time is ticking towards the end of the world, can the heroes protect the world?

PVR Pictures is releasing My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission on 3rd December 2021.

About PVR Pictures:

PVR Pictures is the flagship film production and distribution arm of the prestigious PVR Group,

India, under the leadership of Ajay Bijli and Sanjeev K. Bijli.

The company made a successful film production debut in 2007 with ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (India's

official entry into the Oscars, 2008) & ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’ and has continued to build on its

creative leadership in the film industry since then. In a short span it has built an impressive slate

in Bollywood & Hollywood film business.

The company has established relationships with major Hollywood studios such as Miramax,

Summit, Newline, Focus Features, MGM and GK Films. Some of the movies distributed by PVR

Pictures include ‘Don’, 'Blue', 'All The Best', 'Khatta Meetha', 'Ghajini', 'Golmaal Returns', 'Sarkar

Raj', 'Rann', ‘August Rush’, ‘Eastern Promises’, ‘In Bruges’, 'Aviator', 'Chicago', 'The Twilight

Saga, 'The Hurt Locker', ‘Step Up 3D’.

PVR has dedicated itself to inspiring, entertaining and invigorating audiences nationwide.

About ODEX Private Limited

ODEX is a privately owned Singapore company with its forte in Japanese Anime since 2000.

With an extensive list of anime titles in its library, ODEX distributes Japanese Anime programs

to TV stations, Cinemas & VOD Platforms; other businesses include Merchandise licensing and

Mall Events. Being the pioneer to spearhead the anime industry and a strong advocate for

licensed anime programs, ODEX is constantly creating and reinventing ways to deliver licensed

anime programs to the masses.

ODEX currently distributes Japanese Anime Films to cinemas in 29 countries.

● South East Asia

(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar &

Mongolia),

● South Asia

(India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Nepal),

● Middle East & North Africa

(KSA, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Cyprus, Mauritius &

Israel).

ODEX releases on average 12 Japanese Anime films per year and some notable titles includes:

● Demon Slayer - Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train

● Stand By Me Doraemon 2 movie

● Detective Conan The Movie: The Scarlet Bullet

● Digimon: The Last Evolution

● My Hero Academia 2: Heroes Rising

● One Piece Stampede movie

● Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel – Spring Song

● Sword Art Online movie – Ordinal Scale

● Naruto the Last movie

etc.

You can find out more about ODEX’s activities in the following Social Media sites:

https://www.facebook.com/ODEXanime

https://www.instagram.com/odex_sg

https://www.youtube.com/c/ODEXanime

https://twitter.com/odexsg

https://www.tiktok.com/@odexanime

Films from Uzbekistan, Russia, Iran, Australia, and Spain Bag Top Awards at KidzCINEMA 2021

Mumbai – 1^st December 2021 – KidzCINEMA 2021, last evening in an Award Ceremony announced the Gaja Awards for the 2^nd edition of this international children’s film festival in presence of well-known Bollywood actor Kannan Arunachalam, as Chief Guest.

With the festival’s theme “stories of positivity,” the festival had received 1519 film entries from 93 countries, out of which 51 films were a part of official selection competing for awards. The films, which received Golden Gaja Awards are as follows:

• Animation (Short): Girl and cloud – UZBEKISTAN
• Live Action (Short): Georgy – RUSSIAN FEDERATION
• Live Action (Long): A Tale of Flight – IRAN
• Kidz Made Films (Juniors): The science of stress during remote learning - AUSTRALIA
• Kidz Made Films (Youth): The Power of the Mirror - SPAIN

KidzCinema2021 was kicked of Universal Children’s Day, which is celebrated on 20th November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. The festival is available virtually for a month up to 19th December, through MovieSaints, the streaming partner. This festival is supported by CIFEJ (Centre International de Film pour l'enfance et La Jeunesse i.e. The International Centre of Films for Children and Young People).

Praveen Nagda, Festival Director, KidzCINEMA informed, “It was very encouraging to see our 2^nd edition attracting so many films from all over the world. It gives a platform to thousands of filmmakers to showcase their work around children’s films. In this edition, we not only enhanced our curatorial value but also engaged with global jury members representing all continents of planet earth. Our engagement with children was at the next level as this time we also introduced child jury for two short film categories, making it a wholesome festival experience.”

The festival had 5 categories of competition viz. Animation (Short), Live Action (Long), Live Action (Short), Kidz Made Films (Juniors), and Kidz Made Films (Youth). Out of these 2 categories of Kidz Made Films are the films made by children across the world between the age group of 6 to 20 years, while the earlier 3 categories are films made by adults for children.

The adult jury consisted of Alexandre Juruena, Anita Gupta, Azadeh Shakourirad, Deependra Mohora, Fahmidul Shantonu, Gabriele Brennen, Josep Arbiol, Marion Creely, Dr. Madhu Chopra, Monarose Sheila Pereira, Mohammad Shahmohammadi, NR Nanjunde Gowda, Premendra Mazumder, Ramesh Tekwani, Soultana Koumutsi, Sannette Naeye, Thuli Nyembe, Tehzeeb Khurana, T.S. Nagabharana, and Vinod Ganatra.

The Child Jury included celebrity child artist Dishita Sehgal along with Ihita Jain, Kyra Narain, Os Mishra, and Ojasvini Kumar. Another highlight of the festival was a performance by child artists Karman Singh Talwar, Purvahi Dhawan, and Fathima Neha.

Children from all over the world interacted with eminent directors, actors, and participate in various workshops on Filmmaking, Animation, Scriptwriting, Acting, Anchoring, and Theatre etc. Workshop on Acting by Suvahhdan Angre, Mobile Filmmaking by Ritesh Taksande, Theatre by Raell Padamsee’s ACE Productions and Gulshan Walia, Navarasa (nine emotions) by Actor Mithila Naik, Voice Modulation by Actor Leena Nandi, Photography by Pritesh Rao, Singing by Charul Singh, Harmony Musical Abode were organized.

AWARDS LIST – KIDZCINEMA 2021

Category: Animation (Short)

Golden Gaja	Girl and cloud - UZBEKISTAN
Silver Gaja	The Flowerpot Monster and the Pinwheel – GERMANY
Bronze Gaja	Forever a Kid - NETHERLANDS
Jury Special Mention	Refusal (2021) – UNITED KINGDOM DREAMS - INDIA Earth’s Children - KENYA

Category: Live Action (Short)

Golden Gaja	Georgy – RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Silver Gaja (For 2 films)	While I was getting ice cream! – RUSSIAN FEDERATION Clinton - INDIA
Bronze Gaja	MATE - INDIA
Jury Special Mention	play - IRAN

Category: Live Action (Long)

Golden Gaja	A Tale of Flight - IRAN
Silver Gaja	OUT OF THE BOX – UNITED STATES
Bronze Gaja	The Hoop - TURKEY
Jury Special Mention	Bonamy - INDIA Trees in Dreams - INDIA

Category: Kidz Made Films (Juniors)

Golden Gaja	The science of stress during remote learning - AUSTRALIA
Silver Gaja	The bird sat on the branch - SLOVENIA
Bronze Gaja	Cuando nos dimos cuenta (When we finally understood) – SPAIN
Jury Special Mention	The Butler and the Ball - CANADA

Category: Kidz Made Films (Youth)

Golden Gaja	The Power of the Mirror - SPAIN
Silver Gaja	Bhuiput - INDIA
Bronze Gaja	Through an Ants Eye - INDIA
Jury Special Mention	Trikonomiti - BANGLADESH Raman - INDIA

CHILD JURY SPECIAL AWARDS – Live Action (Short)

First	Mala pankha aste tar (If I Had a wings!) - INDIA
Second	While I was getting ice cream – RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Third	And suddenly it's evening - ITALY

CHILD JURY SPECIAL AWARDS – Animation (Short)

First	Forever a Kid – NETHERLANDS
Second	A Fish for a friend - SINGAPORE
Third	DREAMS - INDIA

Brand Note for Kebab Gunj

Punekars are in for a treat as rich and traditional Lucknowi flavours from Kebab Gunj are all set to take over. Honest flavours, a contemporary vibe and authentic food is what the restaurant is offering for everyone walking through their door.

With absolutely no compromise on the quality of food Kebab Gunj is known for its traditional way of cooking -“Dum Pukth”, which helps bring the right flavours of the spices and the gosht. The name Kebab Gunj is inspired by the culture of Lucknow and it’s famous Hazrat Gunj, Nishat Gunj and other prominent places.

Bringing to your plate flavours from Lucknow and Delhi the rich gravies paired with succulent and flavorful kebabs -made with handmade masalas. Finest of the spices are procured ,roasted and ground in-house, giving each dish its own unique flavour.

The Seekh Masala, Tikka Masala, Galawati Kebab Masala and Chaat Masala are known to win hearts, owing to their special mix of in-house ground masalas. The king of all, the Mutton Galawati Kebab with its succulent and melt in mouth feel —-alongside our rich gravies- is our USP ! One must also try the Murgh Tikka Makhani, Murgh Malai Tikka, Handi Murgh, Murgh Makhanwala(butter chicken) and Murgh Tikka Makhani Biryani.  

Located at Koregaon  Park Lane —7, Pune.

Kebab Gunj offers an outdoor seating of 20 people with a welcoming and comfortable ambience to dine in. Contemporary and casual,all day ‘Seekh Cafe’, is your one stop destination for all your kebab and lucknowi flavour cravings.

Be it a celebration, weekly family outing or a quick bite to go, Kebab Gunj offers you delicious food, a great vibe and conversations that fill your heart. Never forget that this festive season we bring our flavour right to your doorsteps where we do "live counter" of Kebabs and cater for parties at home or roof tops!

Royal Enfield | Monthly Update for November 2021

Monthly Update - November 2021

Royal Enfield posted a sale of 51,654 motorcycles in the month of November, against the sales of 63,782 motorcycles for the same month last year. 

MOTORCYCLES SALES	November			YTD
	2021	2020	Growth	2020’21	2019'20	Growth
Domestic	44,830	59,084	-24%	2,95,711	3,18,577	-7%
Exports	6,824	4,698	45%	47,143	20,174	134%
Total	51,654	63,782	-19%	3,42,854	3,38,751	1%

Business Updates:

EICMA 2021

Royal Enfield opened its showcase offering at EICMA 2021 today with the unveiling of the Royal Enfield SG650 Concept motorcycle - marking another chapter in the brand’s 120 year old journey of creative expression and conceptual development. The company also debuted the 120th Year Anniversary Edition of the brand's flagship 650 Twin motorcycles, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650. The two special edition motorcycles have a limited production run of only 480 units, distributed as 120 units each for India, Europe, Americas and South East Asia.  In addition, Royal Enfield showcased a major centre-piece of their 120 anniversary celebration projects with the unveiling of ‘Project Origin’, a faithful working replica of the brand’s very first ‘motor-bicycle’.

Royal Enfield Commences Local Assembly Unit, CKD Plant in Thailand

Royal Enfield has commenced operations of its local assembly unit and CKD facility in Thailand. Set up in partnership with GPX, the facility will be a significant boost to the company’s business in Southeast Asia, and further reiterates its commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, said a company release. With this, the company now has three local CKD units overseas — in Argentina and Colombia in Latin America, and in Thailand — in addition to the three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Chennai.