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Consumers will now be able to trace the journey of farm produce and view the real-time footprint data of the fresh fruits and vegetables

India’s leading B2B fresh food supply chain company Ninjacart- the leading  has recently launched ‘FoodPrint’, a complete food traceability infrastructure that captures the end-to-end footprint traceability of fruits and vegetables which moves from farm to home. The FoodPrint initiative is launched on the occasion of “World Food Safety Day” declared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO), which is observed on the 7th of June every year. 

As per reports, this is Ninjacart’s first step towards achieving its motive of providing “safe food for billion people in India”. With FoodPrint, a consumer will now be able to trace the journey and view the real-time footprint data of the fresh fruits and vegetables they ordered through the FoodPrint Viewer feature available on the official website. To avail this feature, one has to order from Ninjacart’s partner grocery store through Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, and other online platforms, to view the Foodprint data.

 Talking about ‘Food Print’ initiative Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Co-Founder & CEO, Ninjacart said, “In the year 2018, we took it upon ourselves to provide safe food for India’s billion people. We are happy to have launched this initiative alongside “World Food Safety Day” which stands for “Food Safety, Everyone’s Business”.

 “COVID-19 and its impact on every aspect of human life have made people view every decision of purchasing in light of health and safety. We knew that building this infrastructure was not an easy journey. But we persistently worked towards it for two years.  Today with ‘FoodPrint’, we have taken the first step towards bringing that idea to fruition. We all have understood the pertinence of traceability given the current situation. Accountability plays a very big role in the supply chain of fresh produce”, Nagarajan added.

Ninjacart’s ‘FoodPrint’ traces right from, who is the farmer, when was it harvested, the truck that carried the produce, the warehouse that processed it, the helper who handled the product at the warehouse, a retailer who brought the product, and how it was delivered to the consumer’s doorstep. With the help of cutting edge technology such as RFID tags, a product is mapped right from the time a farmer brings the product to the collection centres and the same foodprint ID is kept intact till it reaches the retailer and then the consumer. All this is possible by entering the order number that one receives on the Realtime Footprint Viewer on the website www.ninjacart.com under the traceability tab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumers will now be able to trace the journey of farm produce and view the real-time footprint data of the fresh fruits and vegetables they ordered through the FoodPrint Viewer feature available on the official website. One has to order from Ninjacart’s partner grocery stores through Swiggy

Consumers will now be able to trace

The training includes live interviews to experts, influences, distributors and executives.

 The latest circumstances have accelerated the digital transition and offered the opportunity to develop new forms of work organization, build and strengthen relationships, enhance services and products. 

Considering the ongoing revolution in how we access and consume contents, Kohler says it deliberately designed its new service to give a global audience free access to speeches about current critical issues of our business. The manufacturer has planned a series of web events that will be live streamed on Facebook and Instagram. A public broadcasting service of live interviews to experts, influencers, distributors, executives. 

The ever-changing digital world is the perfect stage to promote original content and reach every single player of the construction, agriculture, lawn & garden and rental sectors, the company says. The program is named Kohler Engines University Web TV and will consist of one episode per week, 20 minutes each.

 More than before, aftersales support is key and Kohler provides the help the end user needs anytime, anywhere. Kohler’s dealer network is wide and strong. To make it even wider and stronger, the company scheduled additional invitation-only events called Kohler Engines University Live. These training sessions will be live streamed for a limited audience and will cover more technical matters, such as gasoline engines basic maintenance, KIRA diagnostic tool, Kohler Partners platform, etc. 

“Kohler Communication is becoming more and more digital: we are now focusing on reaching customers and partners with new tools. We want to support them through the entire lifetime of our products. This idea led us to the creation of a set of training programs, online conferences and initiatives that will increase the brand recognition” said Nino De Giglio, Director – Brand & Communication, Kohler Engines.

The training includes live interviews to experts,

This new hydroponic plant will be set up in Abu Dhabi. 

Arab Emirates (UAE) has been taking many efforts in boosting agriculture in the country. The country is creating its presence in the global market with its outstanding marketing of fresh local produce. In the efforts to push the country’s agriculture to new heights, a company named ‘Smart Acres’ will be launching a new Hydroponic Vertical Farm, which is anticipated to come in the third quarter of 2020. This new hydroponic plant will be set up in Abu Dhabi and the company aims to expand it all over the country in the following years. 

Smart Acres has designed the system using IoT-based technology, which will help the growers in monitoring and growing produce with the consumption of fewer resources. The hydroponics usually generate high quality of crops, and with IoT based technology, the growers could easily grow their produce. 

Another unique differentiating thing about the farm is that all the plants are going to be stacked vertically. In vertical farms, the crops are stacked into one another, which create room for more saplings. The environment needs to be controlled with no natural sunlight or soil. The nutrients are dissolved in the water-based solvent and reach the plants through roots. Roots are generally kept in the water-based system but can also be kept in other solids, which again will contain the necessary nutrients to help the plants grow.

This new hydroponic plant will be set

FarmERP shares light on the crucial role AgriTech plays in ensuring Safe Produce

Food safety and food security are interlinked. While climate change and environmental impacts on food chain are triggering food security problems, concerns about the safety of currently available agricultural products are growing to be equally grave. This coupled with the changing consumer patterns due to the current pandemic makes food safety & traceability an even bigger concern.

The second World Food Safety Day as declared by the World Health Organization, is set to be celebrated today, i.e. June 7,2020 to draw attention and inspire action to help detect, manage and prevent foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, market access, agriculture, tourism and sustainable development. 

The theme for the year is “Food safety, everyone’s business” which aims to call upon countries and decision makers in the private sectors, civil societies, organizations affiliated with the United Nations and the general public to take action against food wastage and promote global food safety awareness. The WHO suggests the responsibility of Food safety be shared by governments, producers and consumers alike, where every stakeholder plays their role from farm to table to ensure that the produce consumed by us is safe and will not adversely affect our health, so as to reduce the socio-economic burden of foodborne diseases. 

According to a Health report by a European Food Safety Society, Agriculture is one of the key players when it comes to assurance of food safety. Agriculture can extend support through increased production and minimal processing, sharing data on trends in production, processes, food prices and commodity use by supply chains applying a holistic and risk mitigation approach, and ensuring hygienic production, processing and distribution of foods with established monitoring systems at every step of the way. 

Food Traceability is vital to the food supply chain in order to keep a tab on the hygienic production and distribution. Traceability refers to the functions that trace the flow of foods throughout the production, processing, and distribution stages. Traceability helps to locate a product at any stage within the supply chain, because of which it becomes imperative for producers to have integrated systems in order to ensure effective control of the operations to avoid any form of contamination. Having a structured traceability platform, can safeguard agriculture and food processing companies across the globe against any shortcomings regarding safety, allowing for a prompt response owing to the transparency and visibility in the chain, and accounting for diagnosis and mitigation of the incident.

Lack of visibility in sales and production cycles have been one of the major loopholes in the Fresh fruits and vegetable production industry. Mismanaged inventories result in failure to meet the ever-growing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. This has propelled the sector to make a tectonic shift from manual supervision to digital farm management platforms like FarmERP to manage inventories, reduce losses associated with spoilage and work on sales forecasting, procurement strategies & ensuring food traceability & safety through a digital supply chain.

Agri Tech platforms like FarmERP have worked with companies in the past to source fresh produce directly from the farmers to the consumers an entirely digital supply chain to map all the operations. By providing the farm operators with an end to end digital and easy to use solution that covers the entire gamut of operations right from raw materials, to plantation, to harvesting, crop scheduling, scouting, processing, up until it goes for packaging and sales; ERP platforms are the future of food safety. 

FarmERP enables to provide traceable fresh produce to its clients & their customers through its agriculture management software with transformative technologies such as blockchain, etc. This gives consumers the transparency of backtracking and understanding the route of their food from farm to fork. With traditional agriculture in India making a historic shift to next gen technology like farm automation, Artificial Intelligence, GIS mapping, satellite imagery and big data analytics, the preference for ERP solutions is on a rise owing to the complete visibility of data and product life cycle across the entire supply chain from producer to consumer for agriculture-based businesses. 

The food we consume goes through multiple processes before it reaches the market & the consumer. It is highly important to make sure that the quality is maintained at every single stage. FarmERP offers a comprehensive platform for agribusinesses to identify, evaluate, and control the risky scenarios where food safety may be compromised. These future ready AgriTech platforms can help agribusinesses & growers retain high nutritional value of the produce during production, processing, storage, and preservation while mitigating post-production losses.

FarmERP shares light on the crucial role

Strong fundamentals and robust business model contributed increase in revenue said company   

 

During the quarter ended March 31, 2020, Snowman Logistics Ltd recorded a revenue of INR. 60.98 Crores as against INR. 59.80 Crores for the same period in the previous year. EBITDA decreased to INR. 15.39 Crores from INR. 16.67 Crores for the same period in the previous year, PBT decreased to INR. (1.34) Crores from INR. 5.45 Crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and PAT decreased to INR (1.17) Crores from INR 5.42 Crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. 

On an annual basis, revenue during 2019-20 was INR. 240.20 Crores as against to INR. 232.55 Crores during the previous year.  EBITDA increased to INR. 63.38 Crores from INR. 62.24 Crores. EBITDA of FY 20 Includes positive impact of INR.13.58 Crores due to newly adopted Lease Accounting (Ind as 116) and corresponding EBITDA per cent impact is 5.7 per cent. 

PBT decreased to INR. (6.31) Crores from a profit of INR. 10.86 Crores during the previous year. PBT was negatively impacted by INR. 8.49 Crores on account of Ind AS 116 adoption in current year and PAT decreased to INR. (15.01) Crores from a profit of INR. 9.72 Crores during the previous year. The Company has reversed deferred tax assets by INR. 8.95 Crores on account of new income tax rate applicable for companies having turnover below INR. 400 Crores due to which the tax expense was recognized to such extent. The total impact on PAT due to One Time Deferred tax reversal (INR. 8.95 Crores) and Ind AS 116 adoption (INR. 8.49 Crores) is INR. 17.44 Crores.

 Commenting on the results, Prem Kishan Gupta, Chairman, Snowman Logistics Ltd said, “We are satisfied with the results posted by the Company in a year in which it had to face a series of cyclones which impacted the seafood industry. After brief phase of consolidation, the Company is back on its expansion mode and will be starting work on setting up new warehouses during the current year.

 

 

Speaking about the results,  Sunil Nair, CEO, Snowman Logistics said, “The Company has been constantly working on process improvements to ensure the best service levels to customers. This is reflected in the increase in customer base. Entry into the E-Commerce space by tying up with one of the leading players in this business shows that the company is well poised to handle the changing business environment.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strong fundamentals and robust business model contributed

This initiative aims to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products to domestic and international markets 

 

 

 The Delhi International Airport Ltd-run IGIA has emerged as a hub for agricultural perishables. In a statement, DIAL said that it has facilitated the export of the season’s first consignment of mangoes from Lucknow to Dubai.

 “The consignment of 3 metric tonnes of mangoes, brought from orchards in Lucknow, was sent to Dubai by Air India Express flight in recent,” DIAL said in the statement.

“Delhi Airport is now fast emerging as a preferred airport for the export of fresh vegetables and fruits facilitating the government’s ambitious ’’Krishi Udan’’ initiative.” 

This initiative aims to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products to domestic and international markets. “It is part of the Government’s 16-point programme to boost agriculture and double the income of farmers,” the statement said. 

“In April 2020, Delhi Airport also handled the first consignment of 3 metric tonnes (MT) of fresh vegetables, which was exported to London from Varanasi. Last week, the airport handled a consignment of fresh mangoes, which was exported to Dubai from Varanasi via Lucknow.” 

At present, Delhi Airport has India’s one of the largest on-Airport temperature controlled facility of over 1.5 lakh MT capacity to process the perishable products in the temperature range of -200 to 250 degrees Celsius.

Apart from having state-of-the-art infrastructure, the airport also has the largest connectivity to around 150 destinations across the globe, which complements and makes the facility as a most favoured one for the ’’Krishi Udan’’ initiative.

The airport has had handled around 20-22 cargo flights per day (including non-scheduled operations), with freighters operating between various destinations like Doha, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Incheon, etc. 

Additionally, the Centre has designated Delhi Airport as major hub for import and distribution of Covid-19 related medical essentials.

This initiative aims to assist farmers in

The UV light robot, applies treatment on grape vines in a Cornell AgriTech research field at night 

 

 

Researchers at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York, have partnered with SAGA Robotics in Norway to develop the first commercial robotic units, and the autonomous vehicle robots will appear on the market this year. Robots fitted with ultraviolet light lamps that roam vineyards at night are proving effective at killing powdery mildew, a devastating pathogen for many crops, including grapes. 

This spring, the researchers are using two such robots to conduct field trials on Chardonnay grapes at two sites – Cornell AgriTech’s research vineyards in Geneva, and at Anthony Road Wine Co. in Penn Yan, New York.

Studies at Cornell on the use of UV light to kill grapevine powdery mildew date back to 1991, while trials in cooperation with the University of Florida successfully controlled powdery mildew in strawberries in field trials over the last four years. The latest grape trials controlled not just powdery mildew, but another destructive disease called downy mildew. Collaborations with other universities have also led to trials with squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, hops, basil and industrial hemp. 

The UV-light technique is a breakthrough against powdery and downy mildew, which can adapt to chemical antifungal sprays in a single season, costing chemical companies hundreds of millions of dollars in development. 

“Everywhere grapes are grown, growers have to worry about powdery mildew,” said Lance Cadle-Davidson, Ph.D., a research plant pathologist at the Grape Genetics Research Unit at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Geneva, and partner on the project. 

The UV light robot named Thorvald, applies treatment on grape vines in a Cornell AgriTech research field at night. “A typical grape grower will spray chemical fungicides for powdery mildew management between 10 and 15 times each year,” said Cadle-Davidson, who is also an adjunct assistant professor in Cornell’s Department of Plant Pathology. 

Powdery mildews have co-evolved with the plants they attack over millions of years and often develop resistance to chemical treatments. But their evolution has also given them a weakness: adaptation to natural cycles of light. 

UV light damages DNA though many organisms have developed biochemical defenses against this damage, which is triggered by blue light found in sunlight. 

“What makes it possible for us to use UV to control these plant pathogens is we apply it at night,” Gadoury said. “At night, the pathogens don’t receive blue light and the repair mechanism isn’t working.” 

Cadle-Davidson is also developing imaging technology in partnership with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University that will detect and quantify mildew on grape leaves.

 

“We’re right now on version 1.0 of this UV robot treatment, which applies the same dose of UV light to every vine regardless of whether it’s sick or healthy,” Cadle-Davidson said. “Our long-term vision is we’ll couple these detection and treatment approaches across the vineyard in an automated way.”

The UV light robot, applies treatment on

Pegasus Development AG: Green light for multiple production sites worldwide

Under the leadership of board member Roberto Spano, the management of Pegasus Development AG has decided to further expand Pegastril-Nuevo production facilities.
 

New production facilities will be set up at several locations across the world and the site in Turkey is being expanded. These investments will also create new jobs.

The takeover and expansion of the following production facilities are planned in all 20 countries of Latin America, as well as France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Mauritius, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tome, and Mongolia.

The demand for disinfectants has skyrocketed as a result of the coronavirus. Especially high revenues are expected from products which are based on vegetable surfactants and are alcohol-free, such as Nuevo. This was the decisive factor in the management’s decision to further expand the quantity and range of Nuevo products.

Pegasus Development AG promptly secured the exclusive rights by investing in Nuevo, thereby developing the Pegastril-Nuevo brand. You can find more information about the products at: www.pegastrilnuevo.ch. With new technologies and innovative ideas, Pegastril-Nuevo is working to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and any future pandemics. Among other things, disinfection booths have been developed that can spray the whole body with disinfectant within a few seconds. These cabins are primarily intended for use at airports, train stations, and public places. A single tank of disinfectant would be enough to disinfect 10,000 people, each taking ten to twenty seconds to treat.

Pegastril-Nuevo already supplies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Nigeria in addition to the European countries.

In future, virus protection will be the top priority in all business areas. It is becoming obvious that every restaurant and shopping centre will be required to place such a disinfectant cabin at its entrance. This is the precisely where revenue is expected to grow in the future. The cabins will allow brick & mortar shops to remain competitive against e-commerce sites.

 

This will open up an immense market for Pegasus Development AG that promises tremendous growth.

 

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Pegasus Development AG: Green light for multiple

Govt will provide five-crore saplings of fruit-bearing trees to farmers as part of a project 

 

 

Kerala government will provide five-crore saplings to farmers of fruit-bearing trees as part of a project which is jointly implemented by the Agriculture, Forest, Local Self-Governments and Education departments and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). 

The first phase of the distribution of these saplings will be held on World Environment Day. Saplings of nearly 31 fruit-bearing trees which include jackfruit, mango, pomegranate, avocado and orange will be distributed. 

The second phase will commence in July as part of the Van Mahotsav and Thiruvathira Njattuvela. Both these festivities happen in the first week of July when there is a sufficient amount of rain and sunlight for the plants to grow. 

These saplings will be distributed to the farmers free-of-cost and will be planted in individual plots, school compounds and tourist places. Local bodies, Kudumbashree volunteers and MGNREGS workers will help in planting all the saplings.

Grafted, layered and tissue-cultured saplings will be distributed at 25 per cent of the cost.  Farmers who are interested in cultivating the saplings need to contact the nearest Krishi Bhavan or call the toll-free number 1800-425-1661. They can also register at the Agriculture Information Management System portal – www.aims.kerala.gov.in/subhikshakeralam. 

Whereas, the Harithalayam project by the Kerala University (KU) will help to increase the greenery of the campus. The project will be launched on World Environment Day and inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan. The project is being implemented with the help of the Social Forestry Department.

 As part of the project, acacia trees which have been causing environmental destruction at some places will be removed. They will be replaced with fruit-bearing and medicinal trees.  Around 45,000 saplings are being prepared for this purpose on the Karyavattom campus which is spread over 365 acres.

 In addition, Kerala University is planning to have paddy cultivation in nearly 20 acres, a coconut farm with 1,000 coconut trees, a vegetable farm in five acres and a garden of rare plants collected from the Andaman Islands.

 

Govt will provide five-crore saplings of fruit-bearing

The company has registered 25 percent growth with exports of 1537 tractors in May’20. 

 

 

 India’s one of the leading tractor manufacturing company, Sonalika Tractors has  registered 18.6 percent growth with sale of 9177 tractors in domestic as well as overseas market in May 2020 as compared to 7737 tractors in May 2019. The company has strengthened its number one tractor exports position from India by registering 25 percent growth with exports of 1537 tractors in May’20.

Highlighting the performance, Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Group, said, “We have registered healthy overall growth of 18.6 percent in May’20, with 9177 tractors sale, despite the challenging situation. We rolled out a host of initiatives to strengthen our bond and trust with our channel partners, customers and community. Among the lot, to mention few – industry’s first online disbursal of incentives for dealer sales team, extension of warranty and renewal period, service and spare parts availability with standby tractor for customers along with many other initiatives. We were the first tractor brand to have got the plant operational.” 

Key Highlights

 Overall growth registered 18.6 percent (9177 tractors sold) in May’20

Plant operations reached 85 percent in week 4 May’20. Expecting 100 percent operational by June’20

Expecting to surpass May’20 growth in June’20

Overall Q1 FY’21 volume expected to surpass last year

Number one brand in the world from India, records 25 percent exports growth in May’20

 “For the farmers, the real currency is their crops. Tractors play a very important role in the farmer’s life to enhance his productivity from the given set of his land. Farmers are majorly oriented towards application based farming like puddling, mulching, baler application, orchards, horticulture etc. Paddy being the major Kharif crop, we are seeing a demand rise for customised tractors which will be able to address these specialised needs. Along with the demand for tractors, the demand for specialised implements is also expected to go up,” Mittal further said. 

“Sikander series now contributes to 75-80 percent in entire Sonalika portfolio, that too within two years of its launch. We are a leading brand in more than 50 HP segment and now are targeting to achieve leadership position in more than 40HP segment as well, with the launch of 4 new next-gen series tractors viz. Tiger (Designed in Europe), Sikander DLX (10 Deluxe features), Mahabali (Puddling special for Telengana) and Chhatrapati (for Maharashtra). These new tractors are the 1st of its kind in India which will offer customisation that will address the local needs of farmers. These new tractors are expected to contribute 20-25 percent of volumes in our overall sales.” Mittal added.

The company has registered 25 percent growth

The fruit production can increase from 97.97 million tonnes to 99.07 million tonnes as per to the data released by agriculture department 

 The department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare released the second advance estimates of the areas of production of various horticulture crops for the year 2019-20. 

The data says that the total horticulture production in the country is expected to increase by 3.13% from 310.74 million tonnes in 2018-19 to 320.48 million tonnes this year. In the first advance estimate released in January, it was expected to grow to 313.35 million tonnes. The fruit production can increase from 97.97 million tonnes to 99.07 million tonnes according to the data with citrus fruits showing huge growth. The data offer a glimmer of hope to the agriculture sector as these farmers now hope ease in lockdown restrictions will help them in selling these products. 

With the Zaid season ongoing the vegetable production has also shown great results, with production expected to rise by almost 4.69% with onion’s rise expected to be around 17% and that of tomatoes to be around 8 %. 

While the Aromatics and Medicinal plant production are expected to increase from 2.91 million tonnes to 3.06 million tonnes an increase of 5 %, the plantation crop production may see a negative growth this year.

 The spices production is a mixed bag with coriander the big winner with an expected growth rate of 27 % while chilies, cumin, and turmeric are all expected to fall. 

The figures released on June 2 are positive but may be heavily affected by external factors this year as with the supply chain being almost shut due to lockdown the challenge is to make it smooth again so that the produce may reach the consumers. The lockdown saw huge losses for farmers as they had no means to take their crops to the market and sell and fruits and vegetables can rot quickly. The estimates look good on paper but whether it will bring joy to the farmers remains to be seen.

 

The fruit production can increase from 97.97

HAMLET PROTEIN announced the renewal of its partnership with Jebsen & Jessen in Asia.

The agreement covers Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Hamlet Protein aspires to further grow its presence in Asia, building on the local network and market knowledge of Jebsen & Jessen. 

Hamlet Protein continues to focus on bringing its solutions for young animal nutrition and health to Asian customers. With a mix of distribution relationship and local staff operating from China, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand, support by global technical management, Hamlet Protein is able to understand local market dynamics and translate that into practical solutions for feed mills, premixers, integrators and farmers.

“Hamlet Protein has been investing in Asia in recent months. We have added local technical and commercial resources to be closer to our customers. We are also working in selected markets on introducing our concepts into the poultry segment, building on years of experience and research in piglet and calf nutrition and health,” commented Hamlet Protein CEO Erik Visser.

While Covid-19 is affecting the animal protein supply chain across the region, ASF continues to be the mayor reason for concern of hog producers that experience outbreaks in their commercial herds. Where large hog farming companies in China are cautiously restocking, in the Philippines ASF continues to spread within backyard farms on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao. In Vietnam 44 of 63 provinces declared themselves ASF free in Q1. 

“These are challenging times for our industry. However we have a long term commitment to producers in Asia and are investing today to strengthen relationships like our partnership with Jebsen & Jessen and build new ones with customers across the region,” commented Erik Visser.

“We are pleased to continue our successful partnership with Hamlet Protein and look to the future with confidence,” concluded Siew Tin Lim, COO at Jebsen & Jessen.

 

HAMLET PROTEIN announced the renewal of its

The acquisition will give ReNew Power access to energy management services. 

 

 

Clean energy firm ReNew Power on Thursday announced that it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire artificial intelligence and machine learning start up Climate Connect. The acquisition will give ReNew Power access to energy management services.

“ReNew Power has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Regent Climate Connect Knowledge Solutions Private Ltd (Climate Connect) ; a digital -analytics, software development, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning company, specialising in the power markets domain in India,” ReNew Power said in a statement. 

ReNew’s acquisition of Climate Connect is expected to not only add to its digital capabilities but also allow it to offer a suite of digital product offerings to customers across the energy value chain, it added.  

ReNew Power plans to operate Climate Connect as an independent subsidiary that continues to focus on building a global team, world class data integrity and software development processes, as well as business development activities, it said. 

“The first wave of growth in the renewable energy industry came through the addition of physical assets on the ground, the next wave will come through the development of digital products that help optimize power flow from generators to distribution companies to customers,” ReNew Power CMD Sumant Sinha said.

As distribution companies look to tighten operations, find efficiencies, and reduce AT&C losses, digitalization will play a key role and Climate Connect is well-positioned to service this important market, Sinha added. 

Climate Connect CEO and Co-founder Nitin Tanwar said, “We believe that the company’s acquisition by ReNew Power will help us create long-term value for our existing distribution utility and IPP customers and provide us the much-needed scale for the next leg of our journey”. 

The acquisition is expected to strengthen ReNew Power’s ongoing digital and analytics initiative which aims to leverage its data, to optimize decision making across business operations, the statement added.

The acquisition will give ReNew Power access

Brand of Combination Parasiticides for Companion Animals Further Solidifies Merck Animal Health’s Position in the U.S. Companion Animal Category with Comprehensive, Continuous Parasite ProtectionComplements Merck Animal Health’s Broad Portfolio of Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), and Virbac (NYSE Euronext:VIRP) today announced that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which Merck Animal Health would acquire the U.S. rights to SENTINEL® FLAVOR TABS® and SENTINEL® SPECTRUM® Chews in the Companion Animal category. Merck Animal Health will make a cash payment of approximately $400 million to acquire the SENTINEL branded products in the United States at closing of the acquisition.

Comprehensive parasite protection is an essential part of canine overall health and well-being. The BRAVECTO® product line, which are our extended duration flea and tick protection products, and the SENTINEL branded products, which control all common intestinal parasites, provide an attractive opportunity for broad-spectrum, year-round comprehensive internal and external parasite protection for dogs. These complementary products will cover the seven common, harmful parasites that affect dogs inside and out by preventing ticks and multiple stages of the flea lifecycle, including eggs and adult fleas, as well as treating and controlling all common intestinal parasites, including roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms and preventing heartworm disease.

“Veterinary medicines, including parasiticides, and vaccines have transformed the health of animals over the past decade,” said Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health. “This product acquisition reinforces Merck Animal Health’s commitment to our customers and our position in the United States Companion Animal category. We plan to use the extensive breadth and depth of our product portfolio, which includes BRAVECTO, a range of Companion Animal vaccines and the Sure Petcare portfolio of digital products, along with the SENTINEL branded products, to enhance our offerings of comprehensive pet care solutions. These products will provide a full range of complementary solutions for our customers to improve the health and well-being of animals and the people who care for them.”

Scott Bormann, senior vice president, North America Commercial Operations, Merck Animal Health, said, “Our unconditional commitment to the veterinary community is steadfast as we offer a broad range of products and services to our customers. With this product acquisition, we expect to provide veterinarians with the most comprehensive and continuous parasite protection for dogs in easy to administer, palatable formulations. These products will target different parts of the flea lifecycle and will offer broad-spectrum, internal parasite protection in the SENTINEL brand and the extended duration flea and tick protection of BRAVECTO.”

François Fournier, president and chief executive officer, Virbac United States, said, “These brands are well-known and trusted parasiticide products that should continue to provide value to both veterinary clinics and pet owners in the United States for years to come. We believe that Merck Animal Health is the right company, ideally positioned to keep developing these products in a sustainable manner.”

The closing of the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by mid-year 2020.  

Brand of Combination Parasiticides for Companion Animals Further