ZEE unveils its technology and innovation Centre in Bengaluru

ADVANTAGE KARNATAKA

ZEE unveils its technology and innovation Centre in Bengaluru

Mr.Basavaraj Bommai - Chief Minister of Karnataka (centre) inaugurates the ZEE Technology and Innovation Centre in the presence of Mr. Nitin Mittal, President - Technology & Data, ZEE (Left) and Mr. Amit Goenka, President - Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE (Right)

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE), a leading media & entertainment powerhouse, recently announced the launch of its technology and innovation centre in India’s tech capital – Bengaluru. The company said the state-of-the-art tech centre will strengthen its technology, innovation and data capabilities. ZEE said it onboarded 700-plus tech experts to build cutting-edge, world-class products. The facility was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Basavaraj Bommai, in the presence of Mr. Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE and Mr. Nitin Mittal, President – Technology & Data, ZEE. The sprawling 80,000 feet centre will be the company’s epicentre to build a strong cohort of tech, data and talent. Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka, Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot also paid a visit to the tech-centre and interacted with the tech experts, blessing the company’s initiative, that will create employment opportunities for the young professionals in the state. Through the capabilities being built at this centre, the company intends to leverage behavioural and derived data to personalise content and delivery, thereby increasing its reach across platforms.

The centre will build the metaverse network for the Company with the help of AR, VR and NFT led delivery models and will focus on a futuristic tech stack which will enable omnipresent delivery of entertainment across platforms Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Mr Bommai said, for decades, the state of Karnataka has maintained its position as the technology capital of the country and Bengaluru, its capital city, has now become the Silicon Valley of the nation. The ecosystem that Bengaluru has created, is difficult to replicate and has been created by none other than the citizens of the city, he said. "The government of Karnataka is extremely delighted to be a part of ZEE’s initiative and I am confident that the Technology & Innovation Centre set up by ZEE will help to accelerate the growth prospects of the state. Public – private partnership is essential for the growth and long term success of any state and we will ensure that we walk shoulder to shoulder with ZEE in this journey", the Chief Minister said. Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot said the coming years promise fast paced growth & development for the state of Karnataka, mainly due to the evolution of the IT and start-up ecosystem in Bengaluru. "The capital city has been consistently ranked among the Top 30 Global Start-up Ecosystems and we are glad that Corporates like ZEE are focusing their investments on India’s Silicon Valley. I congratulate ZEE on launching the tech centre and firmly believe that it will assist in propelling the state to a global stage and uplift the lives of professionals in the tech industry", he said. Nitin Mittal said: “At the Tech & Innovation Centre, we are building ability for ZEE to leverage digital technologies to improve our reach and engage our customers anytime, anywhere across all devices. We have been a frontrunner in creating engaging content for more than 1.3 billion viewers and are currently focused on building Web 3.0 entertainment platforms. This Centre will build the metaverse future of ZEE including AR, VR, NFTs and relevant data models to our digital platforms.” Animesh Kumar, President – HR and Transformation, ZEE said, “Our newly inaugurated Technology & Innovation Centre is an amalgam of a cross functional talent pool of likeminded individuals ready to challenge the status quo and create innovative solutions in the digital ecosystem. The vibrant workspace is designed with a unique employee value proposition focused on culture, collaboration & innovation is bound to spark ideas and disrupt the ConTech space. We have onboarded some of the brightest tech talent in India that will create the next level of frictionless, highly personalised delivery platforms for content consumption, thereby setting new standards in the country. This is the Centre that will drive our ambition to dominate content consumption in India and for South Asians globally”.

Toyota Group signs MoU with Government of Karnataka for big investments

In its effort to contribute to the country’s vision of “Make in India” and to enable a faster reduction in carbon emissions, out of total investment of Rs 4,800 crore, Toyota Group of Companies that constitutes of Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts has announced their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Karnataka to invest Rs 4,100 crore.

This announcement coincides with Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s 25 years of successful journey in India, by winning the hearts of millions of happy customers.

In-addition to boosting the local manufacturing eco-system, the new development will provide an impetus to employment generation and local community development. This investment will also spur the growth of local supplier base and hence result in higher investments and further job creation.

The MoU was exchanged between Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr. Basavaraj Bommai and Mr. Vikram S. Kirloskar, Vice-Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, in the presence of Dr. Murugesh R. Nirani, Hon’ble Minister of Large & Medium Industries, Government of Karnataka, and Mr. Ravi Kumar, IAS, Chief Secretary of Karnataka State, among other dignitaries.

As part of the MoU, Toyota Group of Companies will systematically invest towards making India a self-reliant manufacturing hub, thus contributing towards the Government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ mission.

The investments are aimed at promoting greener technologies that will help lower dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate carbon emissions. This investment will also enable local production facilities to build electric powertrain parts and components, thereby cater to the electrified vehicle manufacturing in India.

As a part of the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, Toyota will continue to focus on reducing carbon emissions in a holistic manner going beyond tailpipe emissions to address manufacturing and lifecycle CO2 emissions in order to realise its carbon neutrality goals by 2050, as announced earlier.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bommai said, “Our aim is to build ‘New Karnataka for New India’ by creating new 21st century industrial townships and corridors. As a state committed to sustainable development and contributing to the nation’s progress, we want to make Karnataka a global supply-chain and manufacturing hub under our ‘Build for the World’ mission. This MoU with Toyota Group of Companies is a huge stride in this regard, and Karnataka Government is confident of Toyota’s commitment towards sustainable growth and local manufacturing quality for Karnataka’s growth and development. Karnataka being the hub of electric vehicles, welcomes this MoU which adds another feather to State’s cap as leader in this sector”. Sharing his views, Dr. Nirani said, “Toyota Group investments will also enhance the local supplier growth in Karnataka, further leading to higher investments and more job creation. Besides boosting the local manufacturing sector, these investments will also support local community development.”

Since its inception, Toyota has been passionate and committed to build a stable, sustainable, and competitive local supply chain and has taken significant efforts in promoting localization of auto parts and components in line with Government’s ‘Make in India’ mission. The Group has invested in strengthening and increasing supplier base through consistently partnering with them to enhance their capacities and capabilities by sharing Toyota best practices, efficient processes and skilling of manpower, by imparting world-class training program to enhance the production excellence with high quality standards.