The 2023 version of the tournament saw eventual champions, Free State Women, promoted into the Premier Division, and a handful of individual players getting call-ups into national squads, with Free State’s Sikholiwe (Sne) Mdletshe earning Test caps for the Springbok Women, and Shannon-Lee Windvogel (SWD Eagirls) drafted into the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad.

There will be no promotion/relegation in 2024, but for Griquas Women (against Pumas Women), Limpopo Blue Bulls Women (versus Leopards Women) and Valke Rugby Union Women (facing SWD Eagles Women) a good start in front of their home crowd could establish a solid support base and momentum for the tournament, which will culminate in semi-finals on 3 August, and the final a week later on 10 August.

The Griffons Women, who will be coached by the experienced Shamila Louw and former Griffons stalwart, Tertius Maarman, assisting her, have a bye in the opening round.

The first round of action will start an exciting weekend of rugby in Kimberley, Polokwane, and Kempton Park and with no clear front runners at this stage of the tournament, some intriguing matches are on offer.

In Kimberley, Griquas, again coached by Ronald Maarman, with Claudia Francke (forwards) and Coerispa Links (backs) assisting him, will welcome Pumas Women to Kimberley Rugby Club.  The Pumas Women will start the competition with a new head coach Devril Boucher, who has been involved with the team in a variety of roles in the past. He will be assisted by Sbusiso Ngomane and the duo would love to start on a winning note.

Limpopo Blue Bulls Women will again be a strong contender in 2024. They have retained most of their playing squad from last year and head coach, Artwell Makhubela, is in charge again. He will be assisted by Andile Dzavana (backs) and Bryan Mashigo (forwards). They will face another regular contender in the Leopards, a finalist two years ago.

Leopards Head Coach Franklin Jackson will be without his assistant, Jackie Kriel, for their trip north as she is currently with the SA Students Sevens team abroad, but will have the comfort of former Springbok Women wing, Verana van Heerden, to bring massive experience and calmness to his young squad.

The Eagirls will enter the tournament as likely favorites, but the Valke Women cannot be underestimated. The SWD side has been a top-three side consistently and will again have their regular stalwarts available. Elize Arendse is back as head coach and she will be assisted by Nicolene Barendse, who played for the Eagirls till last year.

Valke Head Coach, Catherine Lowane and assistant, Collen Mabasa, will have a plan to combat the free-flowing attack from their visitors for sure.

The first round of fixtures (all on Saturday, 15 June 2024):

Griquas Women vs Pumas Women

Venue: Kimberley Rugby Klub, Kimberley

Kick-off: 10h30

Referee: Cammy Dyers

Valke Women vs SWD Eagirls

Venue: Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park

Kick-off: 12h15

Referee: Siyanda Pikoli

Limpopo Blue Bulls Women vs Leopards Women

Venue: University of Limpopo, Polokwane

Kick-off: 13h00

Referee: Excellent Mnkomo

The post Huge Anticipation As Women’s First Division Kicks Off appeared first on NRI News.

The meeting focused on the amalgamation of:

IDFC Financial Holding Company Limited (“Transferor Company”) into and with IDFC Limited (“Transferee Company”).
IDFC Limited (“Amalgamating Company”) into and with the Bank (“Amalgamated Company”).
The Scheme of Amalgamation has been structured under Sections 230 to 232 of the Companies Act, 2013, and the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements, and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016, along with other relevant regulations.

We are delighted to inform you that the resolution approving the Scheme received an overwhelming majority, with 99.99% of the Non-Convertible Debenture (NCD) Holders representing more than three-fourths in value voting in favor through remote e-voting and e-voting during the meeting.

Meanwhile, ICRA gave a stable rating to IDFC FIRST Bank

* The deposit base of the Bank crosses Rs. 2.01 lakh crore in FY2024
* The bank maintains a high level of retail deposits
Leading rating agency ICRA Ltd (ICRA) has assigned ICRA AA+/Stable rating to the Rs 3,000-crore TIER-II (under Basel-III) bonds of IDFC FIRST Bank. The rating agency has also reaffirmed the ICRA AA+/Stable rating for the existing Long-Term instruments.
ICRA has also withdrawn the rating outstanding on the matured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) amounting to Rs 3,815 crore as these have been fully redeemed, the private sector lender said.

The post NOD For IDFC First Bank Amalgamation appeared first on NRI News.

INDIA: PVR INOX, the largest and the most premium cinema exhibitor in India is proud to announce its association with The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) to co-host a pan-India first-day show of the much-anticipated film “Srikanth”. The groundbreaking movie, set to release in cinemas on 10th May 2024, marks a significant milestone as “Srikanth” becomes the first all-inclusive Hindi film, that not only has more than 70 actors with disabilities in its star cast but is also available in accessible formats for the Visually and Hearing impaired; in compliance with the recent mandate by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.  Having started its journey to make its cinemas accessible for people with disabilities in 2018; PVR INOX is celebrating the advent of accessible movies in the country with this special show at just Rs. 99 per person.

Srikanth is a Hindi-language biographical film on the life of Srikanth Bolla, a visually-impaired Indian industrialist and the founder of Bollant Industries. It is directed by Tushar Hiranandani and stars Rajkummar Rao in the eponymous role with Jyothika, Alaya F, and Sharad Kelkar.  Srikanth is a powerful narrative that beautifully portrays the resilience of people with disabilities. This resonates deeply with NCPEDP, India’s leading cross-disability advocacy organization dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accessible society. Patrons can book tickets for the special screening of “Srikanth” for the 10 AM Show on May 10 @ INR 99 through the PVR App, INOX App, PVR Website, and INOX Website.

Commenting on the collaboration, Gautam Dutta, CEO- Of revenue and Operations, PVR INOX Ltd. said, “Hosting the special screening of ‘Srikanth,’ India’s first all-inclusive Hindi movie having actors with disabilities and releasing with Audio Description for the Visually Impaired and subtitles for Hearing Impaired, being screened in our wheelchair-friendly cinemas is a significant milestone for us. We are delighted to collaborate with the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) to curate a first-day show of this inspirational movie embracing individuals from diverse backgrounds and abilities. At PVR INOX, we are deeply committed to creating inclusive and accessible cinematic experiences for patrons with locomotor disabilities, visual impairment, and hearing impairment.”

PVR embarked upon its Accessible Cinema program in early 2018. This involved a careful evaluation of various kinds of constraints that differently-abled people faced and finding solutions to enable them to enjoy films. Cinemas, since then have been made accessible for people with locomotor disabilities either by design or with the help of assistive equipment, removable seats have been installed to accommodate persons who are unable to move from their wheelchairs. For the hearing impaired, we have been making sub-titled shows easily discoverable on all booking platforms.

However, the company continued to face challenges for the visually impaired since even though there existed an arrangement with a Technology Company to stream audio descriptions through their app XL Cinema, there were no audio-described films except those done by NGOs, etc. However, with the Government’s latest ruling, doors have opened up for accessible entertainment in the country.

Speaking about the partnership, Arman Ali, Executive Director, of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) said, “Our partnership with PVR INOX for the exclusive screening of ‘Srikanth’ is a pivotal moment in our mission to promote equality for people with disabilities in all spheres of life. We appreciate PVR INOX’s proactive measures in enhancing accessibility in movie content and theatre infrastructure, thereby promoting broader inclusivity. Over the past 25 years, NCPEDP has been a staunch advocate for addressing the concerns of disabled individuals through a rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. We take pride in the government’s acknowledgment of the necessity for cinema accessibility standards, which open up the theatrical experience to a demographic that was previously excluded.”

The post CELEBRATING INCLUSIVITY: PVR INOX AND NCPEDP CO-HOST FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW OF “SRIKANTH” appeared first on NRI News.