Business briefs 4

Microsoft and Ed4All on Thursday announced a partnership with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) for empowering students with digital skills.

Through this partnership, Microsoft and Ed4All aim to reach over 170 million learners across the open schooling ecosystem, providing access to tools, experiences, and skills needed to be job-ready in a digital economy, a statement said.

As part of this collaboration, Microsoft and Ed4All have launched a customised tech platform for the NIOS Virtual Open School, BLEAP for NIOS, that provides learners a personalised learning experience for improved learning outcomes, it added.

BLEAP for NIOS brings together live classes and labs, recorded sessions, remote proctored exams and assessments along with skill-based courses and certifications to provide a holistic learning experience. Students across NIOS will also have access to digital courses on technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cyber security and data sciences among others.

* * * First commercial shipment of Apricot from Ladakh exported to Dubai * First commercial shipment of Apricot sourced from Ladakh has been exported to Dubai, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.

The consignment of Apricot was trans-shipped from Leh, Ladakh, to Mumbai.

''Ladakh Apricots have a unique soothing taste and texture with high sugar contents and total soluble solids,'' it said.

Ladakh produces several varieties of Apricots out of which four to five varieties are taken up for commercial cultivation and export opportunities exist for these varieties.

* * * SVC Bank appoints Ashish Singhal as MD * SVC Co-operative Bank (SVC Bank) on Thursday announced the appointment of Ashish Singhal as its new managing director.

Singhal will be responsible for leading the strategic direction as well as the growth journey of the bank, SVC Bank said in a statement. He took over from Ajit Venugopalan who retired as the managing director on August 31.

Singhal has more than two-and-a-half decades of experience largely in the financial sector across non-banking financial company, private and MNC banks, it said.

Prior to joining SVC Bank, Singhal was the managing director of Experian CIC in India. Previously, has worked with GE Capital TFS, Standard Chartered and ICICI Bank in various roles.