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Baroda Salary Classic Account - Everything You Need To Know
There are many different types of bank accounts that you can open today. Salaried people can open a special salary account that can help them save while also empowering them with several benefits. One such account is offered by Bank of Baroda. Let’s understand what a salary account is and look at the Bank of Baroda Salary Classic Account benefits.
JanSamarth Portal by PM Modi - A Complete Guide
Over the years, the Government of India has rolled out numerous welfare schemes. For instance, there is the Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme by the Ministry of Education or the MUDRA Loan scheme under the Department of Financial Service. Users can access these schemes on the respective Ministry's websites. However, tracking applications on various websites can be cumbersome. Keeping this in mind, the government has unveiled the JanSamarth portal, enabling applicants to avail of up to 13 credit-linked government schemes under one roof. Read on to know more about the schemes, its objectives, the registration process and more.
What is a Term Deposits - A Complete Guide
A bank account is the most crucial instrument that allows you to save money. You can easily deposit and withdraw funds at your convenience and grow your savings steadily. While banks offer interest on your savings account deposits, they also offer a host of investment facilities that allow you to earn better interest rates and grow your corpus significantly. One such facility is known as a term deposit. Let us understand what term deposits are and how to assess their salient features, exceptional benefits, and various types. Read on.
6 Best Ways To Earn Returns Through Your Savings Account
The very first bank account opened by most people is a Savings Account. Now, do you know that your savings account can help you earn interest on the money that you deposit in it? The rate of interest that you earn on your savings differs from one bank to the other. There are also several other ways to earn savings account returns. However, not many people are able to utilize the maximum potential of a savings account as they do not possess the right information. To help you make the most out of your savings account, here are 6 Savings Account tips:
What is a Home Loan Balance Transfer & How does it work?
Having a home of your own is a huge life milestone and achievement for most people. Since purchasing a home is an expensive affair that requires financial planning, you can rely on financial aid in the form of home loans. However, often when you opt for a home loan offered by a bank or financial institution, you might find yourself unhappy with the terms attached. Rather than stick it out with terms that are not favourable to your situation, you can later choose to opt for a home loan balance transfer. Let’s look at the benefits of home loan balance transfer and show you how the process works.
How Does Home Loan Verification Process Works in India?
A home loan provides easy and affordable financing for you to purchase or construct the home of your dreams. The good news is that home loan interest rates are currently at an all-time low. Thus, if you are planning to apply for a home loan, now might be the right time to do so. However, do remember that your application process does not end after you submit the documents required for home loan financing. The lender must also verify your loan request before sanctioning the requested amount. To help you gain a better understanding, here is everything you need to know about the home loan verification process.
Personal Loan Vs Car Loan - Which Is Better?
Owing a car is a dream for many. A vehicle offers you the convivence of travelling when you want to and saves you from the rush of local commute. Having your own car also helps in times of emergency. With the outbreak of novel coronavirus, using local commute or public transportation can be daunting. Your own vehicle ensures your safety in such trying times.
Why should you choose a Floating rate Home Loan?
Taking a home loan is one of the most common ways to finance the purchase of your dream home. The home loan provider can either charge you a floating or fixed rate of interest on your debt. While a fixed interest rate can help you get a sense of security, a floating interest rate can potentially help you generate savings. For this reason and a few more, many people prefer to procure a floating rate home loan.
Know Why Your Home Loan Application May Get Rejected?
Home loans are usually of a high value and have a tenure of around 20 to 30 years. Thus, lenders follow a well-defined and stringent process to approve and sanction such loans. This ensures that the lenders do not build any NPAs (Non-Performing Assets). Consequently, procuring a home loan is a rigorous process, and if your application gets rejected, you have to start this process all over again. Hence, it can be pretty disheartening to have your home loan application rejected.
How to get an Education Loan in India – A Complete Guide
An education loan is a loan borrowed for funding higher education and higher-education related expenses. These loans cover the cost of tuition, books accommodation and other expense required to complete the course.
Get Education Loan for Studying MBA in Abroad
Higher education helps extra edge to boost your career. It offers you an opportunity to explore your chosen field in great depth and helps you mould yourself into a knowledgeable professional. One of the most popular postgraduate degrees that students opt for these days is an MBA (Master of Business Administration).
Benefits Of Early Education Loan Repayment
When taking an education loan, you need to carefully plan loan repayment even before your EMIs are due. This way, you can save yourself from falling into a financial crisis in the first few years of your career. Now, you may wonder - should I pay off my student loans before the tenure of the loan is complete?
Government Subsidy on Electric Vehicle Purchases in India 2022: Here's How to Save Lakhs
A cleaner and greener planet is the need of the hour. While changing the environment in a day’s time is implausible, we can certainly take small steps that will show results over time. One such measure is shifting to fossil-fuel-free Electric Vehicles (EV). Did you know that India had electric vehicles back in the late 1990s? However, due to insufficient technology, these vehicles saw a rapid decline. However, with today’s advanced technology and alternative commuting options, now is the best time to adopt greener modes of transportation. Moreover, the Government of India offers subsidies on electric vehicles, leading to savings in Lakhs. Here’s what you need to know about the Electric Vehicle Subsidy in India.
A Complete Guide to bob World Mobile Banking App
Imagine having a bank in the palm of your hand. That is exactly the power of a mobile banking application. It helps you avail most of the common banking services with just a few clicks, reduces paperwork, and saves you a significant amount of time. There are a lot of other benefits of using a mobile banking application. Thus, to offer a swift and easy banking experience to our customers, Bank of Baroda offers you a banking app, bob World App. It can help you access your Bank of Baroda account information from anywhere and at any time that is convenient for you. To help you understand better, here is a complete guide on the bob World mobile banking app.
Know How to Check Your CIBIL Score for Car Loan?
The Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), now TransUnion CIBIL, is one of the 4 credit information companies. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to collect and maintain the credit information of borrowers. Banks pass on your debt information to TransUnion CIBIL, which then collates the data to form an indicator to measure your credit, i.e., the CIBIL score.
Advantages of Bank of Baroda Two-Wheeler Loan
Motorcycles are the primary means of transportation in a vast majority of Indian households. Two wheelers also make it easier to manoeuver India’s busy streets very quickly. Hence, India is among the top 4 largest motorcycles markets across the world
Types of Mortgage Loans: Which Is Best for You
Emergencies are unpredictable, especially financial ones. Sometimes these expenses can be too high to seek financial aid from friends and family. In such times, you can make your idle assets work for you. If you own assets like properties, you can get a loan against them. You can mortgage them as collateral with your lender and avail loan. Read on to understand what a mortgage loan is and the various types of Mortgage Loans.
Web 3.0 - The New Catch Word
The latest buzzword in the techie world has been that of NFT, Metaverse and of course, Web 3.0. So, what is Web 3.0? Is it the new internet revolution or is it a door to the decentralized future? For this, first let’s understand what Web 1.0 and 2.0 has been.
Getting A Car Loan Soon? Make Sure To Avoid These 7 Mistakes!
These days, cars have become more of a necessity for us than a luxury. As a result, there are about 1.4 billion cars on the road in the world today! A car is more than just a means of transport for many.
What Is Loan Against Securities – A Complete Guide
When you need cash, especially a lump sum amount urgently, a loan is one of the best facilities at your disposal. The loan allows you to attend to your expenses, while you can return the funds borrowed from the bank in pocket-friendly instalments over a stipulated tenure. Today, you can mortgage more than your home or any property you may have to procure a loan; you can take out a loan against securities. Let us attempt to understand the meaning, features, benefits and application process for a LAS loan.
What's the Difference Between a Gold Loan and a Loan Against Property?
Loans are one of the best ways to access funds in an emergency or to pursue your goals. There are broadly two types of loans that you can procure - a secured loan and an unsecured loan. If you offer collateral to the lender in exchange for the loan, you
are said to have taken a secured loan. Many people prefer to take a secured loan as it helps them receive funds on suitable loan terms and conditions such as lower interest rates and higher loan amounts. When offering a secured loan, lenders usually
accept gold, securities, property, and other similar assets as collateral. Out of all these types, a loan against gold and a loan against property are the two most common types of secured loans.
7 Amazing Benefits Of Taking A Gold Loan
Almost no auspicious occasion or family function is complete without gold jewellery. In fact, gold is also one of the most precious gifts to pass on to your descendants. But the value of gold doesn’t simply end there; did you know that you can also get a loan against gold jewellery/Ornaments? In fact,
6 Benefits of A Digital MSME Loan for Business Owners
MSMEs, or Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, contribute about 29% of the country's GDP in India. These small to medium scale enterprises often require financial aid to continue their business operations. This is where an MSME loan can prove to be quite
Everything you need to know about Loan Against Securities
Loans can be broadly classified into two forms, secured debt and unsecured debt. Home loans, car/bike loans, and secured lines of credit are all examples of a secured form of debt. This means that to procure such loans, you need to pledge collateral to the lender. Collateral, in simple words, is a valuable item of a certain value that the lender can sell to cover your loan if you fail to make payments. Banks and financial institutions usually accept real estate, gold, and other such assets as forms of collateral. Now, did you know that you can also get a loan against securities?
Features and Benefits of Digital e-Mudra Loan
Setting up a business requires a lot of capital both for the initial investment and for operational costs. While a few people save their way to starting a business, many others take a business loan to meet these capital requirements. To boost entrepreneurship and help small businesses pursue their goals, Bank of Baroda offers a digital e-Mudra loan. This is a credit facility made available by Bank of Baroda for MSMEs that operate in the manufacturing, trading, and services sectors of the economy. One of the best features of the <a href="https://www.bankofbaroda.in/business-banking/msme-banking/loans-and-advances/digital-mudra-loan">Bank of Baroda digital Mudra loan</a> is that it is an unsecured form of debt. This means that you do not need to provide any collateral to procure funding. This is one of the best ways to finance the operations of your business. Read on to know more about this loan.
What is Tenure in a Personal Loan and How to Choose the Loan Tenure Smartly?
A personal loan is an unsecured type of a loan which means that you can borrow the funds without handing over any collateral. The borrowed money can be used for various purposes such as tackling an emergency, financing your business, or pursuing your
educational goals. However, since you do not need to provide collateral to procure a personal loan, the interest rate charged on these loans is relatively higher when compared to other types of loans, such as home loans or student loans. Due to this,
5 Key Factors That Affect Your Personal Loan Interest Rate This Year
Do you need money to pay the security deposit on your rented flat? Or perhaps you are facing a medical emergency that goes beyond the coverage of your health insurance plan. A personal loan is a type of unsecured loan that helps you get access to quick
cash in such situations of need. Features of personal loans include collateral-free applications, speedy approvals and disbursals, attractive interest rates, and no end-use restrictions, to name a few. Now, let us look at the factors affecting personal
5 Smart Tips to Reduce EMI Of Your Existing Personal Loan
Personal loans offer a great way of meeting your financial requirements without compromising your assets.
6 Easy Ways to Choose the Best Personal Loan in 2022
There are multiple personal loan providers present in the market today; thus, you get a plethora of personal loans options to choose from. However, it is important to ensure that you get the best personal loan for yourself by choosing the right creditor.
This will ensure that you can clear off your debt easily without taking on any unnecessary stress.
Give Your Home a Festive Makeover with an Instant Personal Loan
The festive season is the time for celebration, indulging in good food, and exchanging gifts. Festivals are also considered auspicious for making big purchases such as a new vehicle, jewellery, and gadgets. Many people also opt to renovate their homes just before the festive season to add some sparkle and glamour to the celebrations. Now, renovating your home can be quite a costly affair. Fortunately, lenders offer attractive interest rates and even help you get an instant personal loan online during the festive season.
How to Get a Personal Loan Without a Salary Slip in India?
Personal loans can prove helpful in consolidating your existing debts and helping you meet financial emergencies. You can even procure a personal loan to finance special occasions such as a marriage ceremony or an anniversary holiday. It is one of the
most popular types of loans available in the market today.
How to Pay Off Your Personal Loan Quickly?
A personal loan can prove to be a boon in helping you meet planned and unplanned expenses. Many borrowers often prefer personal loans over other types of loans as these loans are apt for all purposes. Whether you need to fund your home renovation or take that long-overdue family vacation, a personal loan can help fund a variety of expenses.
Invisible Banking - Banking that you don't have to think about
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a type of short-term financing that lets you pay in instalments by the end of the specified time period. There are quite a few online merchants and fintech companies in India offering BNPL as a convenient payment option and an excellent alternative to credit cards which includes ZestMoney, LazyPay, Simpl, Amazon Pay Later, Ola Money Postpaid, Paytm Postpaid, Flexmoney, EPayLater, Capital Float, etc. By offering no-cost EMIs and being accessible, and transparent, BNPL is all set to revolutionize the lending landscape, especially for young adults.
A new report released by financial technology company FIS says BNPL is India’s fastest-growing online payment method. By 2025, BNPL is expected to contribute 8.6% of e-commerce market value, up from just 3% in 2021.BNPL loans may be dispensed on pre-paid instruments, wallets or bank accounts, powering commerce across a large number of merchants who would have been acquired and enabled by banks and networks. The cost of actual delivery of credit cards into rural towns will be around Rs. 250-300, and also credit activation rate is 20% now, but in the case of BNPL, the cost is negligible.
Taking BNPL beyond the online channel could play an important role in its growth trajectory and opportunities for credit access which are particularly low for young people and new-to-credit customers, who struggle due to a lack of credit histories and track records for lenders to assess and manage risk. The physical card form factor allows customers to use the digital credit line across touch points.
Regulation is also driving collaborations between fintechs, traditional banks and NBFCs. The report of the RBI working group on digital lending, released in November 2021, recommended that BNPL financing should be treated as balance sheet lending. “Since these products do not meet the requirements of traditional credit facilities, a suitable notification may be issued by the Government of India in this regard,” the report said. As a result, new-age lenders are choosing to work with their tightly-regulated counterparts to grow the market.
Banks, NBFCs and card networks play a vital role in enabling fintechs to deliver BNPL solutions. A large number of fintechs have the ability to underwrite credit using AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) models. However, these loans may be based on capital from NBFC, banks or their own capital in some cases. With UPI credit, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and branchless banking, the roadmap towards inclusion will be significantly accelerated.
With Regards,
Akhil Handa
Chief Digital Officer
Bank of Baroda
Buy Now, Pay Later – The New Finance Buzzword
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a type of short-term financing that lets you pay in instalments by the end of the specified time period. There are quite a few online merchants and fintech companies in India offering BNPL as a convenient payment option and an excellent alternative to credit cards which includes ZestMoney, LazyPay, Simpl, Amazon Pay Later, Ola Money Postpaid, Paytm Postpaid, Flexmoney, EPayLater, Capital Float, etc. By offering no-cost EMIs and being accessible, and transparent, BNPL is all set to revolutionize the lending landscape, especially for young adults.
A new report released by financial technology company FIS says BNPL is India’s fastest-growing online payment method. By 2025, BNPL is expected to contribute 8.6% of e-commerce market value, up from just 3% in 2021.BNPL loans may be dispensed on pre-paid instruments, wallets or bank accounts, powering commerce across a large number of merchants who would have been acquired and enabled by banks and networks. The cost of actual delivery of credit cards into rural towns will be around Rs. 250-300, and also credit activation rate is 20% now, but in the case of BNPL, the cost is negligible.
Taking BNPL beyond the online channel could play an important role in its growth trajectory and opportunities for credit access which are particularly low for young people and new-to-credit customers, who struggle due to a lack of credit histories and track records for lenders to assess and manage risk. The physical card form factor allows customers to use the digital credit line across touch points.
Regulation is also driving collaborations between fintechs, traditional banks and NBFCs. The report of the RBI working group on digital lending, released in November 2021, recommended that BNPL financing should be treated as balance sheet lending. “Since these products do not meet the requirements of traditional credit facilities, a suitable notification may be issued by the Government of India in this regard,” the report said. As a result, new-age lenders are choosing to work with their tightly-regulated counterparts to grow the market.
Banks, NBFCs and card networks play a vital role in enabling fintechs to deliver BNPL solutions. A large number of fintechs have the ability to underwrite credit using AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) models. However, these loans may be based on capital from NBFC, banks or their own capital in some cases. With UPI credit, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and branchless banking, the roadmap towards inclusion will be significantly accelerated.
With Regards,
Akhil Handa
Chief Digital Officer
Bank of Baroda
Gold Loan vs Personal Loan - Which is Better & Why?
A home not only provides a roof over your head, but also doubles up as an investment. Your property can be sold for money at some point in the future. It can also function as collateral for a loan. Home loan is one of the best ways to finance the purchase of your dream flat or house. A home loan helps you safeguard your savings and gives you all the required flexibility to repay the cost of your property with comfort and ease by the way of EMI.
Now, there are so many options of home loans available out there. Choosing just one among all these can be quite confusing. To help you get the best option, here are a few home loan tips that can prove helpful.
1. Check your CIBIL score
Home loans are typically of high amounts and long tenures; thus, they can only be given to individuals who have a good credit history. The minimum home loan credit score required by most of the banks in India is ranges between 650-750. Furthermore, your CIBIL score is directly proportional to the loan amount you are eligible for. This means that having a higher CIBIL score helps you procure loans of higher amount. Generally, having a CIBIL score of 750 and above is considered ideal for procuring a good and substantial value of a home loan. If you check your CIBIL score and find it to be below 650 or just at par with 650, it is better to work on increasing your score before applying for a home loan. Having a good CIBIL score can also help you procure a loan at a relatively lower interest rate.
It is recommended to check your CIBIL score every 3 to 6 months. This will help you keep track of your creditworthiness and devise a strategy to increase your score.
2. Start saving for a down payment
It is important to plan your finances and save up for the down payment before initiating your application for a home loan. This is, perhaps, the best home loan advice that anyone can give you. Lenders typically require you to pay 10% to 30% of the total purchase value of the house or property as down payment depending on your loan amount.
With increasing expenses, it can be quite difficult to save for your home loan down payment. However, making small changes in your monthly budget can ensure that a portion of your income is put aside in a savings account/Investment account etc. to build a corpus for the down payment.
3. Get your financial documents in order
When you take a home loan, you will be required to provide your lender with certain documents such as your recent salary slips, ITRs, and bank account statements, among other paperwork. It helps to keep these documents ready in advance so that you do not have to rush at the eleventh hour to find what you need.
The list of documents required for a home loan can vary between lenders. The documents required can change slightly depending on whether you are salaried or self-employed. Hence, it is better to check with the lender about the records that are required by them. You can easily get a list of required documents by visiting the lender’s website or by calling them up directly.
4. Use a home loan EMI calculator
Understanding your EMI payments is one of the most important home loan repayment tips to keep in mind. Calculating your monthly EMI payments before applying for a home loan can help you avoid taking on debt that you cannot afford to repay.
EMI calculations are dependent upon the interest rate charged and tenure of the loan among many other factors; hence, EMIs are not that easy to calculate manually. Fortunately, you can use the lender’s home loan EMI calculators online to get an idea of the loan amount that you can afford to borrow.
5. Select the right type of home loan
There are many different types of home loans offered by every lender. Bank of Baroda offers its customers different types of home loans including top up loan, home improvement loan, and a home loan takeover scheme, among others. Each type of home loan offers different benefits to borrowers. Hence, it is better to compare bank loans and choose the right home loan that best suits your needs.
When taking a home loan, you can also choose between a fixed interest rate home loan or a floating interest rate home loan. While a fixed interest rate loan will have a constant interest rate throughout the loan tenure, the floating interest rate will see the interest rate change as per the market.
6. Compare the different home loan offers
The cost of procuring a home loan varies between lenders too. When selecting a home loan, you should consider the interest rate charged, home loan processing fees, application fees, technical valuation charges and other such expenses before starting your application process.
To get the best home loan in 2022, do make sure to compare the different loan offers and the other ancillary costs that are associated with borrowing. This research will help you make a smart choice. Remember that a home loan is debt that you take for a long term – generally between 20 to 30 years. So, you would want to pick the best loan provider who fulfils your financial needs for peace of mind.
7. Stay connected with your lender
After you submit your loan application, the lender may require some additional information from you before processing it ahead. Giving quick responses to the lender will help you get the loan amount disbursed swiftly.
It is also imperative to stay in touch with your lender throughout the loan tenure. This will help you build trust with the lender and get the timely help if needed.
8. Keep your credit score maintained during the loan processing period
Lenders typically check your credit score before accepting your loan application. However, they can also pull up your scores again before sanctioning the loan. This helps them ensure that you are a creditworthy individual and are consistent in repaying your debts. Hence, do not get lax on your payments after the lender has accepted your home loan application. Rather, pay more attention to your credit card bills and ensure that they are paid on time. It is also better to avoid applying for new loans until your home loan is sanctioned. This will help you maintain your credit score.
9. Read all the loan related documents carefully
It is particularly important to understand the different terms and conditions of the home loan before signing the documents. Ensure that you go through the documents and get comprehensive knowledge of what you are signing up for. You can contact your lender and ask them for any help you need in understanding the fine print.
9 Best Home Loan Tips 2022
A home not only provides a roof over your head, but also doubles up as an investment. Your property can be sold for money at some point in the future. It can also function as collateral for a loan. Home loan is one of the best ways to finance the purchase of your dream flat or house. A home loan helps you safeguard your savings and gives you all the required flexibility to repay the cost of your property with comfort and ease by the way of EMI.
Now, there are so many options of home loans available out there. Choosing just one among all these can be quite confusing. To help you get the best option, here are a few home loan tips that can prove helpful.
1. Check your CIBIL score
Home loans are typically of high amounts and long tenures; thus, they can only be given to individuals who have a good credit history. The minimum home loan credit score required by most of the banks in India is ranges between 650-750. Furthermore, your CIBIL score is directly proportional to the loan amount you are eligible for. This means that having a higher CIBIL score helps you procure loans of higher amount. Generally, having a CIBIL score of 750 and above is considered ideal for procuring a good and substantial value of a home loan. If you check your CIBIL score and find it to be below 650 or just at par with 650, it is better to work on increasing your score before applying for a home loan. Having a good CIBIL score can also help you procure a loan at a relatively lower interest rate.
It is recommended to check your CIBIL score every 3 to 6 months. This will help you keep track of your creditworthiness and devise a strategy to increase your score.
2. Start saving for a down payment
It is important to plan your finances and save up for the down payment before initiating your application for a home loan. This is, perhaps, the best home loan advice that anyone can give you. Lenders typically require you to pay 10% to 30% of the total purchase value of the house or property as down payment depending on your loan amount.
With increasing expenses, it can be quite difficult to save for your home loan down payment. However, making small changes in your monthly budget can ensure that a portion of your income is put aside in a savings account/Investment account etc. to build a corpus for the down payment.
3. Get your financial documents in order
When you take a home loan, you will be required to provide your lender with certain documents such as your recent salary slips, ITRs, and bank account statements, among other paperwork. It helps to keep these documents ready in advance so that you do not have to rush at the eleventh hour to find what you need.
The list of documents required for a home loan can vary between lenders. The documents required can change slightly depending on whether you are salaried or self-employed. Hence, it is better to check with the lender about the records that are required by them. You can easily get a list of required documents by visiting the lender’s website or by calling them up directly.
4. Use a home loan EMI calculator
Understanding your EMI payments is one of the most important home loan repayment tips to keep in mind. Calculating your monthly EMI payments before applying for a home loan can help you avoid taking on debt that you cannot afford to repay.
EMI calculations are dependent upon the interest rate charged and tenure of the loan among many other factors; hence, EMIs are not that easy to calculate manually. Fortunately, you can use the lender’s home loan EMI calculators online to get an idea of the loan amount that you can afford to borrow.
5. Select the right type of home loan
There are many different types of home loans offered by every lender. Bank of Baroda offers its customers different types of home loans including top up loan, home improvement loan, and a home loan takeover scheme, among others. Each type of home loan offers different benefits to borrowers. Hence, it is better to compare bank loans and choose the right home loan that best suits your needs.
When taking a home loan, you can also choose between a fixed interest rate home loan or a floating interest rate home loan. While a fixed interest rate loan will have a constant interest rate throughout the loan tenure, the floating interest rate will see the interest rate change as per the market.
6. Compare the different home loan offers
The cost of procuring a home loan varies between lenders too. When selecting a home loan, you should consider the interest rate charged, home loan processing fees, application fees, technical valuation charges and other such expenses before starting your application process.
To get the best home loan in 2022, do make sure to compare the different loan offers and the other ancillary costs that are associated with borrowing. This research will help you make a smart choice. Remember that a home loan is debt that you take for a long term – generally between 20 to 30 years. So, you would want to pick the best loan provider who fulfils your financial needs for peace of mind.
7. Stay connected with your lender
After you submit your loan application, the lender may require some additional information from you before processing it ahead. Giving quick responses to the lender will help you get the loan amount disbursed swiftly.
It is also imperative to stay in touch with your lender throughout the loan tenure. This will help you build trust with the lender and get the timely help if needed.
8. Keep your credit score maintained during the loan processing period
Lenders typically check your credit score before accepting your loan application. However, they can also pull up your scores again before sanctioning the loan. This helps them ensure that you are a creditworthy individual and are consistent in repaying your debts. Hence, do not get lax on your payments after the lender has accepted your home loan application. Rather, pay more attention to your credit card bills and ensure that they are paid on time. It is also better to avoid applying for new loans until your home loan is sanctioned. This will help you maintain your credit score.
9. Read all the loan related documents carefully
It is particularly important to understand the different terms and conditions of the home loan before signing the documents. Ensure that you go through the documents and get comprehensive knowledge of what you are signing up for. You can contact your lender and ask them for any help you need in understanding the fine print.
The Importance of Good CIBIL Score for Home Loan
Are you looking for information on CIBIL score for home loans? Have you been wondering what is the minimum CIBIL score for home loans and how you can bring your credit score within that range? If so, then you’ve landed on the right page! Continue reading the article to know all there is about CIBIL score for housing loan application.
Established in 2000, the Credit Information Bureau Limited (CIBIL) is a credit information company that maintains records of individuals and organisations. A lending agency/company/bank gives out loans on the basis of the CIBIL score generated.
What is the relevance of CIBIL Score for home loan?
The CIBIL score is basically a three-digit number that ranges between 300 and 900. The higher the score, the greater are your chances of getting a home loan easily. Lenders mandatorily check your credit score to know your creditworthiness when you apply for a home loan.
Here is a quick look at how the CIBIL score impacts your home loan application:
● The CIBIL score is essentially the first impression that your lender gets of you as a borrower
● Borrowers applying for home loans with low CIBIL scores might face a harder time in getting their applications approved
● Having a good or high CIBIL score allows you to get the better interest rate
Can a good CIBIL score help you get a home loan at a lower EMI?
Having a good CIBIL score when you apply for a home loan not only makes you eligible to get one but also helps you get funding at a lower interest rate. Lower EMIs will help bring down the overall cost of your housing loan. As we all know, a home loan is long term debt that runs into decades. So, even a small reduction in interest can see you potentially save lakhs of rupees.
Thus, having a higher CIBIL score can prove to be immensely helpful for a housing loan.
What is considered to be a good CIBIL score for home loan applicants?
Generally higher CIBIL score is considered good. It increases chances of getting easy approvals and better rates of interest. Bank of Baroda requires a minimum credit score of 701 for a customer to be eligible for a home loan.
Want to know how to increase your home loan eligibility?
Here are a few tips that can enhance your chances of getting a home loan:
● Paying off existing loans:
This is the major tip which will help you increase your chances of getting your home loan sanctioned. Ensure that you are paying your existing EMIs on time regularly and there is no default. If you have a habit of using your credit card, make sure you pay off your entire card debt on a regular basis so that you don’t have to pay any interest on those expenses. In short, pay the whole balance and not just the minimum due.
● Record your variable pay:
Another way to increase your eligibility is by giving the bank proof of your variable pay apart from submitting your income documents.
● Opt for a joint home loan:
You can add your close relatives as co-applicant, while reviewing an application for a joint home loan, the lender considers the income of both the parties. Hence, a combined monthly income will appear higher and increase your chances of getting the loan value you need.
Quick tip: You can use an online tool called the Home Loan EMI Calculator to understand what your monthly payments will look like for a certain loan amount. Knowing what kind of EMIs you can expect will help you plan your finances better. This will save you from defaulting on your payments and help you keep your credit score in good standing throughout the tenure of your home loan.
Steps to check your CIBIL score online
These days, we have become accustomed to the new normal of doing as many things as possible online, from transferring money to someone to applying for cards and opening bank accounts too. In the same way you also check your CIBIL score digitally!
Simply follow these quick steps to easily check your credit score online:
Step 1 - Go to the official CIBIL website, log in and select “Know Your Score”
Step 2 - Fill up the digital form that appears and enter relevant details such as your name, date of birth, past loan history, ID proof etc.
Step 3 - After the form has been properly filled, a payment page will appear. You can choose your preferred form of payment method like debit/credit cards or net banking.
Step 4 - After successful payment you will have to answer five questions CIBIL asks about your credit history, out of which three need to be correct, in order to get your identity authenticated from CIBIL.
On approval, you will get your credit report mailed to you in the next 24 hours, and you can check your CIBIL score, also existing BOB customer can check their CIBIL score through bob World mobile banking app.
Conclusion
Now you can be the proud owner of your very own dream home with the easy home loan options given by Bank of Baroda. Our home loans have low interest rates, affordable processing fees, and longer tenures too. At Bank of Baroda, you can also enjoy many other benefits such as a free credit card when you apply for a home loan. Choose from our wide range of home loans including pre-approved home loan, home improvement loan, and loan takeover scheme, among others. You can check your home loan eligibility online on our website and even apply for your home loan online too. It’s that convenient!
Get in touch with us today to know more.
Ways to Repay Mortgage Loan Quickly
Are you looking for information on CIBIL score for home loans? Have you been wondering what is the minimum CIBIL score for home loans and how you can bring your credit score within that range? If so, then you’ve landed on the right page! Continue reading the article to know all there is about CIBIL score for housing loan application.
Established in 2000, the Credit Information Bureau Limited (CIBIL) is a credit information company that maintains records of individuals and organisations. A lending agency/company/bank gives out loans on the basis of the CIBIL score generated.
What is the relevance of CIBIL Score for home loan?
The CIBIL score is basically a three-digit number that ranges between 300 and 900. The higher the score, the greater are your chances of getting a home loan easily. Lenders mandatorily check your credit score to know your creditworthiness when you apply for a home loan.
Here is a quick look at how the CIBIL score impacts your home loan application:
● The CIBIL score is essentially the first impression that your lender gets of you as a borrower
● Borrowers applying for home loans with low CIBIL scores might face a harder time in getting their applications approved
● Having a good or high CIBIL score allows you to get the better interest rate
Can a good CIBIL score help you get a home loan at a lower EMI?
Having a good CIBIL score when you apply for a home loan not only makes you eligible to get one but also helps you get funding at a lower interest rate. Lower EMIs will help bring down the overall cost of your housing loan. As we all know, a home loan is long term debt that runs into decades. So, even a small reduction in interest can see you potentially save lakhs of rupees.
Thus, having a higher CIBIL score can prove to be immensely helpful for a housing loan.
What is considered to be a good CIBIL score for home loan applicants?
Generally higher CIBIL score is considered good. It increases chances of getting easy approvals and better rates of interest. Bank of Baroda requires a minimum credit score of 701 for a customer to be eligible for a home loan.
Want to know how to increase your home loan eligibility?
Here are a few tips that can enhance your chances of getting a home loan:
● Paying off existing loans:
This is the major tip which will help you increase your chances of getting your home loan sanctioned. Ensure that you are paying your existing EMIs on time regularly and there is no default. If you have a habit of using your credit card, make sure you pay off your entire card debt on a regular basis so that you don’t have to pay any interest on those expenses. In short, pay the whole balance and not just the minimum due.
● Record your variable pay:
Another way to increase your eligibility is by giving the bank proof of your variable pay apart from submitting your income documents.
● Opt for a joint home loan:
You can add your close relatives as co-applicant, while reviewing an application for a joint home loan, the lender considers the income of both the parties. Hence, a combined monthly income will appear higher and increase your chances of getting the loan value you need.
Quick tip: You can use an online tool called the Home Loan EMI Calculator to understand what your monthly payments will look like for a certain loan amount. Knowing what kind of EMIs you can expect will help you plan your finances better. This will save you from defaulting on your payments and help you keep your credit score in good standing throughout the tenure of your home loan.
Steps to check your CIBIL score online
These days, we have become accustomed to the new normal of doing as many things as possible online, from transferring money to someone to applying for cards and opening bank accounts too. In the same way you also check your CIBIL score digitally!
Simply follow these quick steps to easily check your credit score online:
Step 1 - Go to the official CIBIL website, log in and select “Know Your Score”
Step 2 - Fill up the digital form that appears and enter relevant details such as your name, date of birth, past loan history, ID proof etc.
Step 3 - After the form has been properly filled, a payment page will appear. You can choose your preferred form of payment method like debit/credit cards or net banking.
Step 4 - After successful payment you will have to answer five questions CIBIL asks about your credit history, out of which three need to be correct, in order to get your identity authenticated from CIBIL.
On approval, you will get your credit report mailed to you in the next 24 hours, and you can check your CIBIL score, also existing BOB customer can check their CIBIL score through bob World mobile banking app.
Conclusion
Now you can be the proud owner of your very own dream home with the easy home loan options given by Bank of Baroda. Our home loans have low interest rates, affordable processing fees, and longer tenures too. At Bank of Baroda, you can also enjoy many other benefits such as a free credit card when you apply for a home loan. Choose from our wide range of home loans including pre-approved home loan, home improvement loan, and loan takeover scheme, among others. You can check your home loan eligibility online on our website and even apply for your home loan online too. It’s that convenient!
Get in touch with us today to know more.
Why Choose Bank of Baroda Housing Loan?
There is no feeling like home. Buying a house brings unmatched joy and happiness in our lives. An owned home gives us a sense of security and a feeling of achievement. Long back, people had to spend numerous years saving up a corpus to finance their dream of buying a house. But today, you do not need to do so. You can simply take a home loan.
Opting for a home loan is an excellent way to finance the purchase of your dream house. This loan allows you to pay the property amount in a systematic and periodic manner. Bank of Baroda offers home loans at attractive interest rates on easy repayment terms. The maximum tenure of repayment is 30 years, and you can apply for a top-up for five times during this entire tenure.
Benefits of taking a home loan from Bank of Baroda
At Bank of Baroda, we truly believe in simplifying the process of getting finance for your home. As such, we offer a range of loans designed to meet your various requirements. From our pre-approved home loans to home improvement loans and home loan takeover scheme, there is something for everyone. Here are a few more benefits of getting your home loan from Bank of Baroda:
• Low interest rates and processing charges
• Higher loan amounts
• Free credit card
Let’s take a closer look at why you should consider opting for a Bank of Baroda home loan to buy your next or first flat or house. We will show you how to apply for home loan by discussing home loan eligibility, fees and charges, and documentation required in detail.
Bank of Baroda housing loan eligibility criteria
To help more people finance their dream home, we have put together an easy to meet eligibility criteria.
Conclusion
Signing up for a home loan is a long-term commitment. And we, at Bank of Baroda, promise to be there for you every step of the way. From helping you sail through the documentation process with ease to offering expert advice on planning your loan repayment, we have it all covered for you.
In fact, you can now apply for a housing loan with Bank of Baroda online with a matter of a few clicks. We hope this was a great read for you today.
Difference Between Secured and Unsecured Loans
A loan is one of the best ways to finance your dreams or meet sudden expenses. There are several types of loans available in the market today that serve various purposes. For example, a car loan is designed to finance the purchase of your dream vehicle
Documents Required for Loan Against Property - A Complete Checklist
Meeting significant expenses like the cost of an overseas education, a wedding, home renovation, or medical expenses can be challenging. Your credit card may not be sufficient for meeting these costs.
Should you opt for a Home Loan Balance Transfer?
Your home loan is probably one of your biggest financial responsibilities. Now, you may have heard of the concept of a balance transfer to ease out your payments. In this article, we will look at what a home loan balance transfer is and examine whether
6 Best Tips to Repay Your Student Loan Early
An education loan is truly a boon for students who want to pursue higher studies but cannot afford to do so on their own. Many people end up selling family assets - such as gold – in order to pursue their higher studies. With the help of an education
Banking in Metaverse
For the uninitiated, Metaverse is fundamentally a virtual, 3D space for people to interact with one another and with businesses. There are various definitions floating in the market and as per Statista, the metaverse is a virtual space that allows digital representations of people, avatars, to interact with each other in a variety of settings, using virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) glasses, smartphone apps, or other devices.
The global Metaverse revenue opportunity could approach $800 billion in 2024 vs. about $500 billion in 2020, based on Bloomberg’s analysis and Newzoo, IDC, PWC, Statista and Two Circles data. The Metaverse idea has been touted to have immense potential as it could be applied to just about anything.Talking about the banking sector, Korean banks have been the first to explore the opportunities that Metaverse has to offer with Korean banks such as Hana and Woori having launched their branches in the metaverse setting.
For enhanced customer engagement, KB Kookmin Bank has created KB Financial Town on metaverse platform Gather. The town consists of Financial and Business centre, Telecommuting centre and a playground. The first part has been prepared as a virtual branch where the customers can move with their avatars and talk to their banking advisers through video chat that will automatically start as soon as they stand in front of the latter. The bank also plans to use the virtual branch for educating young people on finance as well as training their employees.
Although this may sound like something that is still future-looking, but Financial Institutions are increasing gearing up for the virtual world. Last October, Bank of America has launched virtual reality (VR) training in nearly 4,300 financial centres across USA. This will allow approximately 50,000 employees to practice a range of routine to complex tasks and simulate client interactions through a virtual environment. In metaverse, digital banks will be in the right position to begin facilitating transactions in the environment. For example, the digital Bank viz. Mercobank, based in UK, has begun putting strategies to develop virtual environments for enabling its customers to access banking services online and manage financial transactions in the metaverse, “similar to real life.”
We believe that while traditional financial institutions may not be the primary players in the Metaverse, the technology will gradually gain popularity. When it does, finance will be a significant part of its operations and how it generates value, both for individuals and organizations.
Highlights of Issue 5 of FinTalk are:
• Our Home grown StartUp Stories: Saral Designs, Mumbai
• Fintech firm Legalpay launches healthcare focused fund
• The rise of open banking:How Big Data is changing FinTech
• Paris-based VC firm help European startups cross into Africa
• Zingtree turns complex customer service processes into clear action plans
With Regards,
Akhil Handa
Chief Digital Officer
Bank of Baroda
Beyond Organic, consider Hydroponic
With climate change becoming a prime concern for the world alongside other contemporary world environmental issues and the Indian government’s mission to dramatically increase the incomes of our farmers, we are presented with yet another opportunity for a revolution. And this revolution can come in the form of hydroponic farming for not just agricultural communities but also urban dwellers struggling in the relatively worse-off environment situation in the cities.
Hydroponics is a contemporary method of horticulture or growing plants, usually farm produce, without using soil. In this method, the crops are grown on water, rich in essential micro and macronutrients. According to studies, plants grown hydroponically grow faster and healthier than plants in the soil, since they are provided nutrients directly to their roots through the water in the form of an aqueous solvent, and not through the soil.
Several startups in India are using this technique to produce organic food in the obvious lack of land availability considering the expense of buying a large piece of land for business. These are startups that are also helping urban inhabitants build urban gardens in limited spaces. Leveraging technology to grow high-quality, low-cost vegetables for the masses while promoting a healthier way of living, Eeki Foods is a venture by IIT alumni that provides nutritious and residue-free vegetables at affordable prices all year round. A wholesale hydroponic, organic gardening and wellness product distribution company, with a focus on integrating sustainable and moral concepts into a modern economic model.
Acqua Farms is helping urban Indians grow their own food using the limited material available for farming activities in an urban setting with a starter kit. They also offer larger planter systems with 24, 48, 72, 96, and 1,000 depending on the user's demands, a subscription-based service to individuals who are unfamiliar with hydroponics, in which they assign the customer an agronomist who takes care of their plants and monitors them once a week for a monthly charge.
Urban Kissan, another startup aims to incorporate the 'In My Backyard' concept into sustainable farming. With the Urban Kissan's assistance and supervision, you can now grow fresh food such as lettuce, herbs, greens, and exotic veggies all year. They may be grown everywhere, from rooftops to balconies.
As more startups are sure to come into the hydroponics space, Urban farming will pick pace in India and indeed around the world. What is needed is for rural agriculture, the primary agriculture, to also make use of this method that does not require high-end technology but provides environmental as well as economic benefits. The country which has been feeding the world, not just in the way of exports but in the sense that India makes 1/6th of the world, should garb on to this innovation for the collective benefit of the world.
credit : Akhil Handa
Cloud kitchen Startups on Cloud9
The F&B industry is poised for transformation due to technology shifts, changing consumer habits, and rising disposable incomes. Cloud kitchens are one such emerging segment gaining popularity & it is expected to gain more traction as Gen Zs enters the market.
Cloud kitchens are delivery-only restaurants where the preparation + packaging of food takes place while operating at a fraction of the costs incurred by traditional restaurant establishments (rentals, decor, equipment, & wait staff can be saved while operating virtual cloud kitchen brands). Simply put, a cloud kitchen is a 4-walled kitchen structure from where food is dispatched to customers who’re ordering from their offices or homes.
Consumers place their orders via food delivery aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, or direct-ordering platforms such as DotPe, Thrive, etc. These orders are then accepted on POS Systems such as Posify, Posist, & Limetray.
In the end, direct orders are fulfilled via third-party logistics (3PL) providers such as WeFast, Dunzo, Pidge & others.
Foodtech & cloud kitchens are highly scalable, profitable, & asset light compared to traditional F&B concepts. Consequently, their investments & ROIs have reached record highs in 2021 and are expected to grow to a $4 billion industry in India by 2024, up from $1 billion in 2021. The restaurants without physical stores, which only deliver and operate through cloud kitchens, could outpace growth of physical outlets in the next 12 months, despite the reopening of dine-in.
Rebel Foods, an Indian startup which is also backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Sequoia Capital, entered the Unicorn club to achieve a billion-dollar valuation after securing $175 million in a funding round led by the sovereign wealth fund Qatar
Investment Authority.
It said it’s growing at 100% annually and moving toward profitability with an annual run rate of over $150 million. It operates more than 45 brands from Behrouz Biryani to Ovenstory Pizza and Faasos wraps across 10 countries including India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
Founded by Kiran Prasad, Hygiene BigBite pivoted to a multi-brand cloud kitchen model in 2017 which has raised $15 million from Falcon Edge. It currently operates 10 brands — including Gunpowder and Biryani Trip — across 50 kitchens.
Cloud kitchens will continue to gain the edge by accelerating cost-savings and margins by leveraging trends like kitchen automation, drone delivery, the gig economy, and rising real estate costs in urban areas. The myriad models are peaking investor interest in the F&B space and when it comes to innovation in this space, we have seen only the tip of the iceberg yet!
Credit : Akhil Handa
Wintelligence
Till recently, methods that wine makers used to decide upon to produce have been mostly subjective. Without proper information, it was mostly a guess work. The wine industry is one of the oldest in the world and has dived into modern technological innovations to optimize production and save costs. Artificial intelligence is assisting vineyards world over from soil analysis to customer wine selection and pricing decisions.
Technology is heavily influencing the value chain.
According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, wine production reached a record level of 293 million hectolitres in 2018. As per a report by Zion Market Research, global wine market is expected to generate revenue of around USD 423.59 billion by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of around 5.8% between 2017 and 2023.
In Australia, GAIA (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture) uses AI software and a satellite image library to plot every vineyard in the country. GAIA is a cloudbased, automated solution for vineyard identification and mapping. Deep learning neural networks are responsible for GAIA's ability to identify features of vegetation, and allow it to continuously improve. GAIA improves classification of vineyards and crop conditions by analysing the data it collects through deep neural networks.
Developed via a European Union research consortium, vineyard-monitoring robot Vinescout, uses an array of technologies for wine selection. VineScout utilizes an infrared sensor and a multispectral camera to respectively measure the temperature of plant leaves and the amount of water contained within the plants to let growers know if the plants are getting enough water, along with their current level of maturity and robustness.
Ailytic, a South Australian tech company, has developed an AI software to collect data from production and use it to analyze variables such as temperature and inventory. Then it generates an optimal production schedule based on the analysis, allowing companies to maximize their time and money.
Tastry, a sensory sciences company based in California, uses machine learning to teach artificial intelligence to “taste” – and this technology is shaking up the wine industry. Tastry’s technology decodes aroma and flavor profiles by chemically analyzing thousands of wines in their lab. Then Tastry identifies the unique consumer palate of each individual that takes a quiz in a store our on their app.
Modern technology is changing the way we consume our wine. Tech is at play at the back end for the production process and in the front helping us make better wine choices
Credit :Akhil Handa
Balancing control and flexibility a FinTech Startup would want to offer
FinTech startups will have a very fine line between moving from the old school way and the trust factor. Banks are now moving towards the path of digital transformations and bringing in new technologies with the intent on building leaner, faster, cheaper products than traditional banks. Brands have been created to be approachable and emotionally engaging, differing from the more traditional bank’s approach that Indian customer base is used to.
Customers does not want opaque financial institutions, rather they like customized services, more transparency, more mobility, flexible banking, lower fees and faster transactions. And now customers are spoilt with choices in the market.
But the challenge as this evolves is how you stand out, while gaining people’s trust. People have to be able to remember your name and who you are, but also trust you with their money.
1.Keep it simple and clean:
Now that it’s a new change to adapt, it should not be jargon. People need to understand clearly who you are, what you offer and why they should care. You need to be quick and simple to understand
2.Know Your Customer:
Understanding your customer, designing and delivering the value that matters most to customers is the key for the success of your product. In case of a diverse mass customer base, you can quickly get a ‘map’ of your audience’s life and world, and make sure all product decisions, features and communications are guided towards fitting in easily there.
3. Right attention to touch points: Small touches of delight you add, on top of the basics, make your experience more memorable and, thereby, more sticky. Building stickiness or virality into the design of your products and onboarding experience has more power than any amount of content marketing.
4.Nurturing partnerships:
As more technology companies spring up, covering a wide base of offers, becoming the preferred partner in your category is essential. This means cultivating a community and partnership strategy as soon as possible in your lifecycle
As the competition for banking services intensifies, FinTech startups will have to take more bold steps to set themselves apart in the market. Agile, fast, and focused execution are quintessential for success.
credits : Akhil Handa
7 Best Car Loan Tips to Follow in 2022
With the increasing need to travel short and long distances in comfort and safety, buying a car has become a necessity in recent times. Now, cars are expensive, and you may need a bit of help with financing the vehicle of your dreams.
Bank of Baroda Lowers Home Loan Interest Rate
On the other hand, if you had applied for a loan with the same loan amount and tenure at the old rates, you would have had to pay a minimum interest rate of 6.85% p.a. Your EMI payment, in this case, would have been Rs.32,763.
Buying A Car This Festive Season? Here Is What You Must Consider Before Taking A Car Loan
Owning your own vehicle has become more important now than ever before. The Covid-19 pandemic has completely altered social behaviour, forcing us to become highly cautious before using shared transport. And what better time to go car shopping than when
The Benefits of Buying Your Dream Bike During the Festive Season
Given the increasing traffic on the roads, buying a bike can be quite beneficial as this vehicle can help you save a lot of time on your daily commutes. Two-wheelers are also economical as they require less fuel and are able to give a good mileage
What are the consequences of missing a home loan EMI? (And how to get back on track?
A home loan can help you finance the purchase of your dream house. These loans are usually of a high value and, therefore, longer in tenure as well. Lenders typically sanction only 75% to 90% of the cost, and you are required to save enough to make
Lost your job due to Covid 19? Here's how to pay your home loan EMIs
Home loans are typically of high value and result in fixed obligations for long period of time in the form of EMI payments. For many individuals, a significant chunk of the monthly salary goes towards
Your Digital Stylist
Dear Reader,
Fashion is one of the most challenging fields, highly impacted by global economic uncertainty as well as distinct trends and industrial changes. In response to the pressure for growth and cost efficiency, many brands have started a series of initiatives to improve their speed to market and to implement sustainable innovation.
As evident during the pandemic, the need to adapt and overcome has been paramount for fashion brands to survive. Brick-and-mortar fashion companies are feeling the pain augmented by Covid-19. Mall-based retailers reportedly saw earnings plunge 256% in Q2’20, according to Coresight Research and over 12,000 US stores closed in 2020, according to real estate company CoStar Group, up from 10,000 stores the year before.
One exciting innovation in the fashion industry has been the introduction of AI-based digital stylists and chatbots, that can give feedback to customers on outfit choices or suggest alternatives if required. For example, Stylesnap is an AI-powered feature built into the Amazon app that help you find looks you love quickly and easily. Take a photograph or screenshot of an outfit, upload it onto the Amazon app, and you'll be presented with items that look just like the ones in the picture.
Even Facebook is experimenting with an AI system of its own called Fashion++. The software uses AI to analyse a person’s outfit and suggest subtle alterations that it thinks could improve the look, like rolling up the sleeves or removing an accessory.
Israel-based Syte offers retailers and brands a camera button that can be added next to the search bar on a mobile website or app. Shoppers can upload images of their favorite styles through the button, and then see looks “inspired” by those images on the brand’s site. Syte counts a number of high-profile brands among its clients, including Tommy Hilfiger, Myntra, and Kohl’s. Even luxury brands are testing digital stylists in select markets: Prada, for example, has introduced a “personalized concierge” chatbot for its relaunched Chinese website.
Fashion-tech company Style.me provides virtual styling solutions, and has recently launched a powerful plugin that can integrate a 3D virtual fitting room to any online retail website.
Recently, Fashion Innovation Agency has introduced digital human stylists (DHS) that is powered by Microsoft AI, IoT and natural language processing. It can understand what’s in your wardrobe, what’s in your calendar, where you’re going, allowing personal recommendations that are visually and verbally communicated back to the user within your own home.
With the customers’ lives becoming progressively entwined with the digital world, it is imperative that brands in Fashion Industry start embracing the latest technologies to push their limits of manufacturing, marketing and wearability.
Credits : Akhil Handa Aparna Anand
Disaster Management
Dear Reader,
We are living in the midst of a revolution. Supervised learning, a branch of Machine learning allows engineers to develop models that can train themselves. In turn, these models are helping solve crisis management problems before disaster strikes.
Technologists have long modeled data to harness machine learning for disaster relief. After the Chernobyl crisis, scientists analyzed satellite imagery and weather data to track the flow of radiation from the reactor. Today’s algorithms far outpace their predecessors in analytic and predictive powers. Machine learning models are able to deliver more granular predictions. NASA has developed the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) Model. Data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is fed into LHASA in three-hour intervals. If a landslide-prone area is experiencing heavy rain, LHASA then issues a warning. Analysts then channel that information to the appropriate agencies, providing near-real-time risk assessments.
Roofing material is a major risk factor in resilience to natural disasters. So, a model that can predict it is also one that can predict which buildings are most at risk during an emergency. In Guatemala, models are identifying “soft-story” buildings–those most likely to collapse during an earthquake. “Forecast funding” can mitigate damage by providing the most vulnerable with cash assistance to prepare for disaster. Bangladesh and Nepal are nations that are already implementing this strategy.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods affect large areas and millions of people, but responding to such disasters is a massive logistical challenge. Crisis responders, including governments, NGOs, and UN organizations, need fast access to comprehensive and accurate assessments in the aftermath of disasters to plan how best to allocate limited resources. To help mitigate the impact of such disasters, Google in partnership with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Innovation Accelerator has created "Building Damage Detection in Satellite Imagery Using Convolutional Neural Networks", which details a machine learning (ML) approach to automatically process satellite data to generate building damage assessments. As per Google this work has the potential to drastically reduce the time and effort required for crisis workers to produce damage assessment reports. In turn, this would reduce the turnaround times needed to deliver timely disaster aid to the most severely affected areas, while increasing the overall coverage of such critical services. The World Food Programme was awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize and they thanked Google and its team of engineers in pioneering the development of artificial intelligence to revolutionise humanitarian operations.
The application of machine learning techniques to satellite imagery is revolutionizing disaster relief. Crisis maps and image comparisons are helping relief organizations to deliver aid with precision.
Credits : Akhil Handa Prithwijit Ghosh
AI-Operations
Dear Reader,
From Amazon Alexa to Siri, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained serious footholds in our personal lives. However, when it comes to IT operations platforms, AI and Machine Learning technologies are still in the nascent stages.
Incidentally, the forces of digital business transformation are necessitating a change to traditional IT management techniques. Hence, advanced approach to IT-Ops, also known as AI-Ops (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) is being developed, which combines algorithmic and human intelligence to provide full visibility into the state and performance of the IT systems.
AI-Ops bridge three different IT disciplines - service management, performance management and automation - to accomplish its goals of continuous insights and improvements. Gartner predicts that the use of AI-Ops by large enterprises to monitor applications and infrastructure will rise from 5% in 2018 to 30% by 2023.
In this reference, SysTrack has developed AI-Ops-based platform which incorporates natural language processing (NLP) and AI-driven sentiment scoring. The integration of NLP powers an easy-to-use search function that enables the IT Team to gain holistic idea about their environment. Through integrations with AI-Ops platforms, including IBM Operations Analytics – Predictive Insights, the platform provides a detailed real-time and historical endpoint data that IT operations need to execute AIOps use cases, including proactive monitoring. The NLP engine, allows IT to type or speak questions about their environment in plain English and return suggested answers for accelerated root cause analysis.
Multiple financial institutions are also incorporating AI-Ops in their business functions. For instance, US Bank is leveraging AI-Ops to increase automation across the business lines by analyzing large, monitoring-driven data sets. With the help of AI-Ops, US Bank envisions that the query and complaint resolution will be more effective, delivering better up time and improving customer experience.
Similarly, Similarly, Barclays Bank is using AI-Ops platform through AI and machine learning to analyse end-to-end analysis of IT infrastructure based on various monitoring tools to pull together the required information in order to deliver the best user experience.
As machine-learning systems become more accurate and reliable, routine and well-understood actions can be triggered without human intervention, potentially resolving issues before users are impacted or even become aware of any problem.
Credits : Akhil Handa Manish Kulkarni
Zero Gravity Fridge
Dear Reader,
Thinking of a household kitchen without a refrigerator in it is almost impossible. Astronauts have been going to space since 1961, and have to eat canned and dried food that have only three years of shelf life as they still don’t have a refrigerator that can work in space.
The simple reason being, refrigerators rely on gravity to distribute oil through the compressor system that regulates temperature, so in space these systems don’t work or break down quickly.
Now, In a project funded by NASA, a team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared, and Whirlpool are building a prototype that can operate just as well in outer space as it does on Earth. The team of researchers is building a refrigerator that can keep food cold on longer missions in space, at zero gravity. It is aimed at giving astronauts a supply of food that could last five to six years.
Even though fridge experiments have been made in space before, they either didn’t work properly or eventually broke down. Cooling systems currently on the International Space Station are used for experiments and storing biological samples rather than for storing food, as they consume significantly more energy than on Earth.
In a typical fridge, gravity helps to control the flow of liquid and vapour. Similarly, the oil lubrication system inside of a fridge’s compressor is gravity-based. When bringing new technology into space, making the entire system reliable in zero gravity is the key challenge.
The device is about the size of a microwave oven that can fit into the International Space Station’s rack system and can store biological samples for science experiments. Purdue researchers also demonstrated that the refrigerator can operate in different orientations, even upside down, an important capability for the variable gravity of lunar and planetary missions.
Overcoming the zero gravity problem and its effect on the flow of oil throughout the refrigerator has been addressed with the use of an oil-free scroll compressor developed by Colorado-based company, Air Squared, a specialist in oil-free scroll solutions. The compressor will be tested both in the prototype and in its larger, more instrumented counterpart built by Purdue researchers.
The engineers have built three experiments to test the effects of microgravity on a new oil-free fridge design: a prototype for potential future use on the International Space Station, a setup for testing the prototype’s vulnerability to liquid flooding and a larger version of the prototype with sensors and instruments to capture how gravity affects the vapour compression cycle.
The team ran all the three experiments to test the machine in a specially-designed plane that flew in microgravity. They found that the refrigerator could operate in microgravity without any liquid flooding. The oil-free vapor-compressor inside the fridge addresses the concerns about their suitability in zero gravity.
Thus, if we are to colonize Mars in the near future, it is safe to assume that we would have a ready prototype of a refrigerator for our households.
Credits : Akhil Handa Clint James
Road Network Management with AI
Dear Reader,
The lack of road safety in India is increasingly becoming a matter of major concern. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, India recorded around 4.3 lakh road accidents in 2019, which took the lives of 1.5 lakh people. Poor road infrastructure, encroachment, and increasing number of vehicles have contributed to the high number of road hazards in the country. The solution seems clear: real-time road monitoring and information collation about road infrastructure.
New Delhi-based deep tech startup Nayan India Science and Technologies has developed a road safety and traffic monitoring solution that uses a camera, computer vision and artificial intelligence. The application constantly monitors roads, infrastructure, and traffic violation. The AI Powered algorithms analyse the video feeds and alert in case of violations, defects or dangers on the road. The B2B SaaS startup works with road transport authorities, insurance companies, private aggregators, public transportation fleets etc. to provide real world, last-mile analytics to better revenue channels.
RoadMetrics is an AI-based solution that uses image and sensor data obtained from a simple smartphone to classify road defects, signs, traffic signals, street lights, etc. This road and street-level data helps enterprise mapping firms and smart city bodies with analytics on road networks and a better mapping experience. The data is sold through the API model as well as on a per km basis, depending on the geography for Smart Cities.
Swedish start-up, Mapillary, acquired by Facebook, is the street-level imagery platform that scales and automates mapping using collaboration, cameras and computer vision. Mapillary’s tools enable anyone to collect, share, and use street-level images which are combined for improving the city maps.
US based RoadBotics automated inspections and generated actionable data about road networks, including identification of individual distresses like potholes and alligator cracks. Their detailed maps, unbiased ratings, and practical tools save time and taxpayer dollars for hundreds of communities across the country and around the world.
As per IBEF ORG, India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning a total of 5.89 million kilometres (kms). This road network transports 64.5% of all goods in the country and 90% of India’s total passenger traffic uses road network to commute. Road transportation has gradually increased over the years with improvement in connectivity between cities, towns and villages in the country. In India, sale of automobiles and movement of freight by roads is growing at a rapid rate. The startups are focused in solving road network issues by using India’s main asset - its huge population.
Credits : Akhil Handa Manisha Gawle
Beauty Trends - 2021
Dear Reader,
The global beauty industry (encompassing skin care, color cosmetics, hair care, fragrances, and personal care) has been shaken by the COVID-19 crisis. With months of lockdown, retail businesses closed and international travel ban, consumer’s purchase and usage behaviour has witnessed a dramatic change leading to fall in sales across many beauty segments.
Beauty sales declined as much as 30% in the first half of the year, according to a McKinsey report and even major brands took a blow. With more than a year under pandemic, brands are now working towards better ways to deal with the humongous shift in consumer values and expectations.
In this effort, brands are adopting new technologies at a faster speed to redefine personalisation. Some companies such as L’Oréal offers AI powered at-home devices, which can measure user conditions, like the emergence of dark spots or surrounding environmental concerns, on a daily basis. L’Oréal’s Perso device accounts for this data to dispense custom-formulated makeup every day. Another company Atolla uses AI capabilities to customize facial serums for consumers by using data collected through quizzes and tests measuring oil, moisture, and pH levels.
As per a CB Insights report, Johnson & Johnson, has invested in new engineered preservatives that could be used in items like haircare or body care products. The company invested in Curie Co, a startup that makes biomaterials to replace preservatives in everyday beauty and personal care products, through its JLABS incubator.
Another apparent trend is BigTechs offering retail channel for beauty products. Amazon launched a private label beauty brand called Belei in 2019 and recently invested in India-based D2C beauty site MyGlamm. China-based tech giant Alibaba offers livestreaming and AR features which it has used to attract luxury beauty brands to its e-commerce platform.
Virtual try-on tech leverages augmented reality to allow shoppers to test how different beauty products will look without actual trial. Remarkably, virtual try-on can also help brands personalize the beauty shopping experience, enhancing product discovery and making tailored recommendations about foundation shades, skincare products, and more.
In December 2020, Google launched an AR-powered cosmetics try on tool in Google Search, partnering with brands like L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, and more to let users try on searched-for makeup products using front-facing mobile phone cameras.
Going forward, we expect to see beauty brands and tech giants alike turn to virtual try-on to gather shopper data and make more personalized product recommendations.
Credits : Akhil Handa Aparna Anand
Social Equality in Tech
Dear Reader,
Why do we prize technology over everything else? Because it helps us solve problems as efficiently as possible. No one can predict from which gender, ethnicity or nationality the next great idea might come from. And the tech startup sector is a living embodiment of that.
Moving to another part of the world for employment does pose a challenge. And since most tech jobs are located at specific hotspots, many talented workers always find themselves unemployed. Software as a Service products and services are enabling employers to find and employ talent from all over the world. Remote working, work from anywhere and digital nomadism are slowly becoming the new normal. Digital marketing firm Loganix understands the potential of having a diverse team. The company runs almost all its operations globally — with teams of people from the US, Asia, Australia and Europe —employees are dynamically moved between different teams, depending on requirements, allowing quick resolution of issues.
Poor or different communication skills can fuel many workplace misunderstandings. And it costs quite a bit of time and money to learn a new language. The US Foreign Services Institute estimates that it takes on an average 480 hours to gain basic competence in languages. This was a problem that cloud-based tuition service Preply aimed to fix. The platform offers a place for both language tutors and students to collaborate easily and affordably.
Tutors can create their profiles with rates, experience and number of languages spoken; and students can review their tutors, making it easy for other students to decide who to hire. Workers planning to move to another country can use such services to learn a new language far cheaper than attending a language school. HR teams can also hire tutors to educate employees who need to go abroad or new recruits from other countries.
Social inequality isn’t always about creed, gender or nationality. Entrepreneurs are usually handicapped due to high entry barriers in business. Indeed, the cost of acquiring customers is every bit the startup killer it is known to be. Oleg Campbell, a Ukrainian developer who bootstrapped his startup, Reply, to a $2 million a year company, certainly identifies with the struggle. Campbell’s lack of sales experience stalled the growth of his first enterprise. Consequently, he focused his efforts on helping tech entrepreneurs overcome their lack of salesmanship with smarter tools. Reply’s LinkedIn email finder is specifically for new companies looking for affordable, effective lead generation. Such a tool can help a user find email addresses of prospects on LinkedIn. Paired with LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator, users can create highly personalized outreach messages for each prospect.
The tech sector can, and should, be the leader at showcasing the advantages of diversity. By championing the cause of gender diversity through socially agnostic platforms, they are leading the cause of social equality in tech.
Credits : Akhil Handa Prithwijit Ghosh