How have businesses perceived the digital-readiness of a typical Bharat consumer? What are some outrageous myths assumed by marketers when targeting the regional user? How can enterprises ensure brand loyalty and trust by serving customers in their language of preference? How has digital adoption enhanced native customer engagement? Why is language equality important and is it possible to eliminate the dependency on English altogether? Is there a way to shorten the adoption curve, enabling Bharat users transition from assisted to self-serve mode, sooner? Going forward, what are the key language adoption and technology trends which are likely to pave the future developments for a digitally inclusive Bharat? In this special Season 1 wrap-up episode, Arvind Pani, Co-founder & CEO of Reverie Language Technologies and the show’s host, is joined by his partner, Vivekananda Pani, Co-founder & CTO, Reverie Language Technologies, as they minutely dissect key highlights of Arvind’s conversations with some of the most prominent voices in the Indian BFSI space.

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We are the world’s second largest internet market, with 536 million Indian language internet users far surpassing the 199 million English internet users. And yet, Indic content on the internet is less than .01% and most of it is not even discoverable! Given that 90% of Indian internet users prefer to use their local language to search and carry out tasks online and that India is linguistically the most diverse nation on earth, it is both an opportunity and a challenge, especially for digital businesses, which have barely scratched the surface. In this special ‘Language Equality on the Internet’ Republic Day special episode, we look at how some of the leading businesses and brands in the BFSI sector are attempting to solve this paradox and endeavouring to build an internet for Bharat where the real-world seamless user-experience, in terms of accessibility, user engagement and ease of usage is replicated in the digital world for the next billion users. Listen to our panelists - Ratan Kesh, EVP & Head, Retail Operations & Services, Axis Bank, Dipu KV, President, Head Operations & Customer Service, Bajaj Allianz, Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President, Marketing, South Asia, Mastercard, Arvind Pani, Co-Founder & CEO, Reverie Language Technologies in conversation with Sreeraman Thiagarajan, Co-Founder & CEO, Agrahyah Technologies and Aawaz.com.

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One purchase every 10 seconds. 20 searches per minute. 90% paperless transactions. Arpanarghya Saha, Chief Digital Officer, Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF) shares his first-hand experience on how the digital transformation program at NIMF focused on - building a digital first approach, uncomplicating products for every customer, amplifying voice and language inclusion and establishing a digital centre of excellence - led NIMF to break new ground in the Indian mutual fund space.

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Why is insurance penetration in India among the lowest in the world and how do we move the needle? What factors are set to boost this sunrise sector which is poised to grow over 10% in the next 3-5 years? What is the role of digital in this new era of insurance in Bharat? How are the dynamics of Trust established, why is it so crucial and how has Aviva India, ranked as among the most trusted brands in the life insurance space, drastically enhanced customer satisfaction in the last 5-6 years? Amit Malik, CEO & Managing Director at Aviva India shares his insights in this engaging conversation with host Arvind Pani, Co-Founder and CEO, Reverie Language Technologies.

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With the merger of Bharti AXA General Insurance on September 8th 2021, ICICI Lombard GIC consolidated its market leadership position in the non-life insurance sector, being among the top 3 players in the space. On this episode, Sanjay Datta, Chief – Underwriting, Reinsurance, Claims & Actuarial, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, who was part of the start-up team at ICICI Lombard in 2001 and grew it to its current standing, joins our host Arvind Pani, Co-Founder & CEO, Reverie Language Technologies as they discuss varied facets of insurance within the India context, revelatory insights into user behaviour & perception and the role of technology and digital in servicing users in the heartlands of Bharat.

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Mastercard has been working towards its vision for a cashless world and a cashless Indian economy much before the current times. What are some consistent strategies it deployed to catalyse the adoption of digital or cashless transactions among Bhasha users? What are the key communication strategies Mastercard deployed at ground level to positively influence consumer behavior and spread awareness? R B Santosh Kumar, Vice President, Business Development, Government Engagement at Mastercard, South Asia, shares his expert insights as he joins our show’s host, Arvind Pani, Co-Founder & CEO, Reverie Language Technologies on this latest episode of Building for Bharat. Santosh has spearheaded Mastercard’s strategic initiatives towards empowering MSMEs and kirana stores and digitising value chains like agriculture through the Mastercard Farmer Network (MFN) platform.

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What are the needs and behaviours of rural customers when it comes to taking on loans? How do these new internet users navigate digital platforms? How can 'Cautious Kamalas' move to becoming 'Progressive Pradhans' within this ecosystem? And, how did Mahindra Rural Housing Finance crack the code, maintaining profitability while creating social impact within the rural lending sector, which is seen as risky and unorganized? What can businesses aspiring to cater to new and untapped rural marketplaces in India do better? In the 2nd part of the ‘Sowing Trust, Reaping Rewards’ episode, Shantanu Rege, Chief Operating Officer, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Ltd. (MRHFL), answers these questions and more during this heart-to-heart talk with Arvind Pani, Co-Founder, Reverie Language Technologies and the host of Building for Bharat.

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Rural markets are usually cynically characterised as ‘graveyards for lenders’ owing to the uncertainties of repayment which centre around harvest cycles, and the lack of established markers to assess creditworthiness of rural customers. But one firm has broken stereotypes and has been able to ‘RISE’ to the challenge by catering to 65% of Indians who live in non-urban locations but aspire to own a ‘pucca makaan’, just like everybody else! Hear from Shantanu Rege, Chief Operating Officer of Mahindra Rural Housing Finance as he talks about helping over 1 million rural families secure a roof over their heads, all while becoming the 4th most profitable enterprise within the global Mahindra Group family of companies. On this two-part episode of Building for Bharat, our guest shares his expert insights on just what it takes to build trust amongst rural customers. Our host Arvind Pani, Co-Founder & CEO of Reverie Language Technologies and Shantanu Rege have a heart-to-heart chat on how an NBFC can strive for profitability in an unfamiliar market with a whole host of challenges regarding tech adoption, language usage, trust in banking, and lack of documentation. And share their vision for a more equitable universe where financial inclusion and opportunities are extended to all Indians, regardless of geography.

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"If FMCG companies can deliver sachets of their products to the remotest places, what stops banks or for that matter any other business from doing so?" - asks Ratan Kesh, EVP and Head - Retail Operations and Service at Axis Bank. Axis Bank, one of the front runners of the digital transformation wave in the Indian FinTech space offers customers an award-winning online banking experience, and the brand is one of the earliest adopters of Voice Technology. Its omni-channel approach to customer servicing, with active local-language support, has led to the bank expanding its user base. And since the pandemic, the brand has only accelerated its growth online, with 73% of its Axis Bank customers going digital, today. In this episode, our guest Mr.Ratan Kesh is in conversation with show host, Mr. Arvind Pani of Reverie. Mr. Kesh speaks of how designing mobile-first digital journeys to engage with customers proved to be a game changer for Axis Bank. He talks about how they go about creating intuitive navigation on their award-winning app and shares strategies that enabled them to reduce the IVR journey time by 70% for greater customer satisfaction. He also talks about the importance of weaving in native languages into the mobile banking experience, and how crucial language support is to include more Bharat users into the fold, in this era of phygital banking.

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75 years after Independence, yet, many of our brands, products, services, and spaces are not built with Bharat users in mind. Imagine buying an online insurance policy, with all the information presented to you in a foreign language? Imagine receiving important updates from your provider in a language you don’t prefer, on a platform you are new to! Well, that’s exactly what millions of Indian users who navigate the world in their mother tongue go through when they interface with businesses, exclusively built with English speakers in mind. However, things are changing in the Indian digitalscape, thanks to brands like Bajaj Allianz GIC. Its crop insurance app Farmitra – which provides customised insurance solutions to its insured farmers across the country in their preferred language - won the EFMA-Accenture Global Award, last year. On this launch episode of Building for Bharat, we feature our host Arvind Pani in conversation with Dipu KV, President & Head of Operations and Customer Service at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company. Dipu KV has spearheaded a revolution by achieving an incredible 80% digital servicing rate across Bajaj Allianz, with a vision for change that predates the pandemic. Hear from this industry leader on what he thinks of Voice Technology and learn more about his idea for a humanistic AI-driven approach to serving customers. Get insights on delivering more personalized, language-aware experiences in your sector, to create true customer delight.

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