In response to this honor, Vice Chancellor Dr. S. V. Kota Reddy stated, “We are immensely proud to receive the Bharat Blockchain Academic Excellence Award. This achievement underscores our commitment to advancing blockchain education and research. I want to thank our dedicated faculty, staff, and students who made this recognition possible. We look forward to continuing our journey in pioneering innovative solutions that benefit society.” The award was presented during the Grand Finale event on 24th October in New Delhi. This accolade celebrates our accomplishments and motivates us to further our efforts in blockchain technology.

In the finale, VIT-AP University also was presented with a land parcel allocation in Polyversity Metaverse. Dr. S. V. Kota Reddy received the official allocation document for a dedicated land parcel to VIT-AP within the Polyversity Metaverse. This significant milestone enables VIT-AP University to establish a virtual campus, offering students a uniquely immersive learning experience and facilitating seamless virtual interaction with peers across geographies. The allocation of this virtual land is a part of the collaborative efforts led by Information Data Systems (IDS), which has set up a Blockchain Centre of Excellence under the Bharat Blockchain University-Industry Cluster. VIT-AP’s virtual campus will enable students to explore digital learning spaces and engage with cutting-edge tools and resources through the metaverse as part of its mission to foster innovative blockchain education.

Dr. S. V. Kota Reddy thanked Mr. Voruganti Aravind, Global Vice President—of Blockchain, and Sunil Subrahmanyam Y, Business Strategy & Partnerships, IDS, for establishing the Centre of Excellence in Blockchain at VIT—AP University.

Dr. Prabha Selvaraj, Professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering was present for the event.

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The project was unveiled at the project location in Pimpri-Chinchwad, where over 500+ lit drones presented a spectacular show including visuals of key features of the project like the ecotone design, the home automation features, and the unveiling of the Metaverse experience. The drones finally formed a QR code that could be scanned by the audience to enter the Metaverse experience of Mahindra Citadel.

In this unique experience, users are transported to their future homes, even before they make their decision to purchase. Users can also interact with elements within the homes and design interiors to their liking. Amit Kumar Sinha, MD & CEO, of Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, said, “We are excited to launch Bastion at Mahindra Citadel in Pune, a focus market for Mahindra Lifespaces. This immersive and interactive Metaverse experience not only sets a new industry standard but also provides our customers with a unique opportunity to truly envision their future homes.“

Building on the resounding success of Phase 1 launched in November 2022, Bastion at Mahindra Citadel which spans 9.66 acres, features a carefully crafted selection of premium, 3 & 4 BHK homes. The development offers a diverse range of amenities, thoughtfully designed to enhance the physical, mental, and social well-being of the residents, promoting a balanced and vibrant lifestyle. Homes at Mahindra Citadel are pre-certified IGBC gold-rated and have various design and process interventions for energy efficiency and waste management.

Strategically positioned along the bustling Mumbai-Pune highway, this development occupies a coveted residential location within Pimpri-Chinchwad. It offers proximity to the IT hub of Hinjewadi, Sant Tukaram Nagar, Pimpri, and PCMC metro stations. The area also offers a variety of malls, reputed schools, colleges, multi-specialty hospitals, and various entertainment and restaurant options, which contribute to its accessibility and lifestyle.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. brings the Mahindra Group’s philosophy of ‘Rise’ to India’s real estate and infrastructure industry through thriving residential communities and enabling business ecosystems. The Company’s development footprint spans 34.46 million sq. ft. of completed, ongoing, and forthcoming residential projects across seven Indian cities; and over 5000 acres of ongoing and forthcoming projects under development/management at its integrated developments/industrial clusters across four locations.

The first real estate company in India to have committed to the global Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), all Mahindra Lifespaces’ projects are certified environment friendly. With a 100% Green portfolio since 2014, the Company is working towards carbon neutrality by 2040 and actively supports research on green buildings tailored to climatic conditions in India. Mahindra Lifespaces(r) is the recipient of over 80 awards for its projects and ESG initiatives.

Mahindra Lifespaces has set a new industry standard by launching India’s first home-buying experience on the Metaverse. This immersive and interactive experience provides customers with a unique opportunity to envision their future homes and interact with elements within the homes. The development offers a diverse range of amenities, thoughtfully designed to enhance the physical, mental, and social well-being of the residents, promoting a balanced and vibrant lifestyle.

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INDIA:  As businesses embrace the metaverse across the globe, almost 70% of business executives in India plan to integrate the metaverse into their organizational activities as per the report by PwC India titled, “Our Take – Embracing the Metaverse.” Additionally, 63% of companies that are actively engaged with the metaverse say they will fully embed the metaverse in their organizational activities within a year.

Ashootosh Chand, Partner – Digital and Emerging Technologies, PwC India, said, “The metaverse opportunity is enormous and we expect exponential growth because it is relevant across genders, geographies, and generations. Consumers are open to adopting new technologies and companies are investing heavily in the required infrastructure to leverage the metaverse. We can already see brands experimenting in the metaverse to delight their customers.”

Discussing how a lot of the metaverse’s success will rely upon utilizing data effectively, Sudipta Ghosh, Partner & Leader – Data & Analytics, PwC India said, “Metaverse allows organizations to be really innovative about how they can meaningfully engage with the customers, employees, and the broader ecosystem. There is enough evidence that the “hype” is getting replaced by a better appreciation of driving tangible business outcomes as the technology further matures.” 

Key takeaways from the report:

• Understanding of the metaverse: More than 60% of the business leaders surveyed by PwC India affirmed that they have a detailed or good understanding of the metaverse. Of the companies surveyed, 22% represent Telecom, Media, and Technology (TMT), 19% FS, 16% pharma and healthcare, 15% retail and consumer, 12% industrial products, 9% government, and 7% automotive and edtech. 79% of those in the TMT sector indicate that they either have a detailed or a good understanding of the domain.
• Integrating the metaverse into business: Globally, businesses have started exploring partnerships with some of the leading players in the metaverse to explore business opportunities. However, the metaverse ecosystem in India is still at a nascent stage. 25% of Indian respondents say that their metaverse plans will be fully embedded in their activities within a year, while 47% say that this will take place in 2–3 years.
• Creating new opportunities: At least 39% of Indian respondents in the survey say that the metaverse will be a social platform for their company. Nearly 20% feel that it will revolutionize businesses, creating a mega gig/creator economy. 9% believe that it is the next incarnation of the internet. Some, however, are still undecided — 24% are unsure about how they feel about the ramifications of the metaverse.
• Leveraging the metaverse: In India, companies are most likely to create virtual content for customers to engage with on the metaverse (17%). 13% said they would like to provide onboarding and training through the metaverse and 11% would like to use the metaverse to create communities.
• Concerns & risks: 36% of those surveyed said cybersecurity poses the biggest risk for businesses in India. 28% of respondents felt the technological limitations could pose a challenge.

In the US as well, cybersecurity tops the list, followed by privacy risks, which is the third-most important risk area for Indian respondents.

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BENGALURU: Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, today announced a strategic partnership with Polygon Companies, a developer of the leading Ethereum scaling protocol offering scalable, affordable, secure, and sustainable blockchains for Web3. The partnership will result in the setting up of a Blockchain-eCommerce Centre of Excellence (CoE) that will work on research and development of Web3 and metaverse commerce use cases in India to accelerate the adoption of Web3.

This partnership comes amidst Flipkart’s many excursions in Web3 in recent times. Earlier this year, Flipkart announced Flipkart Labs, the innovation wing, to incubate various solutions to bring innovation to the e-commerce scene in India. With Labs, Flipkart ventured into Web3 and Metaverse commerce to explore NFTs, Virtual Immersive stores, and other Blockchain-related use cases. Since then, Flipkart has launched FireDrops, an easy-to-use NFT platform for brands to explore new horizons of community building and pivot the value of NFTs around utilities. During the festive sale, Flipkart also partnered with eDAO to launch a virtual shopping experience in the metaverse – called Flipverse. Flipverse enabled brands to organize unique product launches and create engaging experiences for users within a hyper-realistic, game-like environment.

Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Flipkart, stated, “Innovation is one of the main pillars for Flipkart and we have consistently worked towards technology solutions to scale new frontiers and introduce new products and services. We are delighted to partner with Polygon, a company that is at the forefront of blockchain innovation, nationally and internationally. With the COE, we look forward to working with them and leveraging their expertise and technical know-how to successfully onboard users not just to the value proposition of Web3 or Metaverse commerce but also Web3 in general.”

Commenting on the partnership, Naren Ravula, VP, Head of Product Strategy at Flipkart and Head of Flipkart Labs, said, “Our partnership with Polygon exhibits our technology-driven mindset with an endeavor to transform the shopping experiences for millions of users and redefine the future of commerce, consumption, and value creation. The partnership brings expertise from the world of e-commerce and Blockchain and lays the foundation for innovation at a protocol, platform, and product-level for decentralized e-commerce in India, especially through brand collaborations and initiatives like 3D storefronts, novel NFT drop mechanisms, trustless standards for commerce, on-chain loyalty, and play-to-earn experiences. We look forward to continuing our work with Polygon and adding value to the e-commerce ecosystem by creating opportunities for innovative interactions with customers.”

Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon says, “We are excited to partner with Flipkart to create the Centre of Excellence. Polygon’s mission is to bring the next billion users to Web3 and this partnership will pioneer research and development at the intersection of Web3 and experiential retail which will advance adoption and impact in India and across the world. We see the Blockchain-eCommerce Centre of Excellence as an engine for the evolution of e-commerce in the years to come.”

Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics, especially the realm of NFTs and digital collectibles, which have evolved significantly in recent years, with brands finding new avenues to create value for themselves and their users. However, it’s still in its early days and decentralized technologies are yet to become more mainstream. This partnership between one of India’s leading digital commerce entities and the leading Ethereum scaling protocol will be an opportunity to create a large impact and deliver on the promise of Web3 for all.

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