An all-men team cooked lip-smacking Kadai Paneer, a common Indian Cottage cheese preparation delicately prepared on a wok, to walk away with the first prize in the inaugural Masterchef competition held at Samsung India headquarters in Gurugram. It helped that the four-member team was led by Hotel Management graduate Surya Kanta Dash.

“We delegated activities within the team, which helped us to deliver the way we wanted. We had excellent team coordination,” said Mr. Dash, a General Manager with Samsung India.

Chef Vishal Nigam, who was the chief judge for Samsung India’s Masterchef Competition, said the winning team displayed the qualities needed to cook a delicious recipe.

“Contestants were judged according to taste, presentation and consistency. Dishes cooked here were amazing and fabulous and it was a fantastic competition,” Mr. Nigam said.

Nearly 80 odd employees from Samsung India donned the chef’s hat to showcase their culinary skills for the Masterchef competition. Each team comprised four participants, including family members.

Each team had to choose one dish from a pre-fixed list. 50 minutes were given to prepare the delicacies.

Kavita Bisht’s team cooked Kadhi, a thick gravy dish, and was adjudged joint winners.

“We never thought this could be so big and large. We really enjoyed a lot,” said Ms. Bisht.

“We were under a lot of pressure to cook the right dish but we really enjoyed. It is a great initiative as it brought us all together,” said Sukhvinder Sharma.

The group-based activity not only presented employees with the opportunity to cook and showcase their culinary skills but helped them develop strong bonds with their team members.

“At Samsung, it is our constant endeavour to bring fun and laughter at workplace. The Masterchef event not only increased bonding among employees, but also provided a glimpse of our culture to family members of many of our colleagues,” said Arun Arora, Director, HR at SIEL.

Deepak Sachan, part of the team that was runners-up, said Samsung is a great place to work and events like the Masterchef competition added cool quotient to the work place.

“We are a large family with thousands of colleagues working out of the same building. It’s great fun to be part of such events because we get to know our colleagues from different teams,” Mr. Sachan added.

The audience too had a great time during the Masterchef competition. When not cheering for their favourite team, spectators got the opportunity to taste different cuisines – from Mushroom Matar Masala and Spring Rolls to Manchurian Fry, Chilly Paneer and Veg Salt & Pepper.

Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia met the participants and wished them luck

Mr. Ken Kang, MD & Head, Mobile Business, Samsung India felicitated the winners

(L-R) Mr. H C Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME and Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing at the MoU signing ceremony for Samsung Technical Schools

Samsung India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) for its Samsung Technical School initiative, renewing its partnership for 10 existing schools run across the country and also adding two new MSME-Samsung Technical Schools at Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.

With this, the number of schools in partnership with the Ministry of MSME goes up to 12. Samsung runs another 10 such schools in collaboration with Departments of Technical Education in different states such as Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal, taking the total to 22.

Reinforcing its commitment to the government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, Samsung also announced the MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship program for girls and differently-abled trainees. A Meritorious Reward Program for toppers at these institutes has also been launched.

Under the MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship program, 1,000 girls and differently-abled trainees, who have successfully completed the basic course, will be given a scholarship of up to INR 20,000. This will cover the entire fee for the Samsung Advanced Repair and Industrial Skills Enhancement 2 (A.R.I.S.E.2) program and will help augment the number of girls and differently-abled trainees at the schools.

With the Meritorious Reward Program, toppers among Samsung Technical School students will be given a reward of INR 20,000 in recognition of their performance.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME, Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing and Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME, said, “We are committed to creating an industry-ready work force and provide industry-oriented skills to our youth under the Skill India program. Samsung has been a valuable partner in our quest to create a vast pool of talent and we are pleased to further renew our association. The scholarships and reward program further showcase Samsung’s commitment towards the girl child and this initiative.”

The minister awarded MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship certificate to Ms. Soni Kumari who enrolled for the A.R.I.S.E.2 program at Samsung Technical School, Varanasi recently.

Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing, said, “The government, with its ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana’, has been trying to generate awareness about various welfare schemes for girls in the country. Samsung’s commitment to the welfare of the girl child and to help them get technically trained and find their feet is commendable.”

Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “Samsung is proud to help impart technical skills to youth of this country. We are totally committed to the government’s Skill India mission. Our collaboration with the ministry of MSME has enabled us to tap the potential of youth and make them job ready with the help of the Samsung Technical School initiative.”

Samsung Technical School, which is a part of Samsung’s citizenship initiative, was started in 2013 and aims to support the government’s vision to make India a global manufacturing hub by addressing the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience. These schools have so far trained over 2,000 youth and made them job-ready across different technical trades. Around 70% of these students have got jobs, 45% of them with Samsung service centres. The initiative is part of Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ initiative and contributes to the government’s Skill India mission.

As part of the curriculum, the A.R.I.S.E.2 program provides students trade-specific training on various aspects of repair and troubleshooting for consumer electronics products such as mobile phones, televisions, home theatres and home appliances.

Students get real-time work experience at Samsung authorized service centres and other than technical skills, they also get a chance to learn soft skills which enable them to provide quality customer service.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia with Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog

Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics’ flagship mobile payments service, made its debut in India today. The first commercial transaction of Samsung Pay in India was carried out in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Mr. Amitabh Kant and Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO Mr. HC Hong in front of a capacity audience that included key banking and card networks executives.

Samsung Pay is ‘Simple, Secure and Almost Everywhere’, making it a revolutionary payments system. Apart from allowing users in India to simply tap and ‘pay on the go’ using their registered cards, Samsung Pay has integrated digital wallet Paytm as well as the government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) into its app. The integration of Samsung Pay with local payments solutions is in line with Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ commitment.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “Samsung Pay is an example of how we continue to push the boundaries of innovations to make life simpler and better for consumers. I am confident Samsung Pay will redefine digital payments and contribute to Digital India.”

Payments through Samsung Pay can be accepted at all places where a physical card will work. To launch Samsung Pay, a user will just have to swipe up on a compatible phone, select the card, authenticate using a fingerprint or PIN and bring the phone close to the PoS terminal.

Samsung Pay works with Samsung’s patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology as well as with Near Field Communication (NFC). Since a majority of PoS terminals in India are MST enabled, they will work seamlessly with Samsung Pay.

Since its launch in July 2015, Samsung Pay has rapidly expanded its service by supporting additional value-added features in multiple markets worldwide. With its launch in India, Samsung Pay is fully available in 12 global markets, including South Korea, the US, China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Mr. Thomas Ko, Vice President and Global Manager, Samsung Pay said, “When we launched Samsung Pay, our goal was to enable consumers across the globe to make payments that are simple, secure and accepted almost everywhere. Over the past year and a half, this vision has evolved into building a complete digital wallet solution, allowing customers worldwide to not only make payments but also use membership and transit cards, receive deals and rewards and more.”

Samsung Pay has created a unique digital payment ecosystem by partnering with a number of banks and payment gateways. Partners include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank. Citibank India is a forthcoming issuer and its credit cards will be live on Samsung Pay shortly.

“Our insights show that convenience, security and acceptance are seen by consumers as the most important influencers when choosing among different digital payment options,” said Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India. “With Samsung Pay, we give our consumers the smartest way to make digital transactions by far.”

Samsung Pay is currently available on Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy A5 (2016), Galaxy A7 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017).

Samsung Pay will also be available on the Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch shortly, allowing users to pay with just the movement of their hand.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, gave away the first prize to the winning team from IIT Madras

‘Monimakers’, the team comprising second-year students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, overwhelmed their much-fancied counterparts from top business schools, to walk away with the first prize at the inaugural Samsung E.D.G.E campus program.

The winning team from IIT Madras presented a solution on leadership strategy in digital payments, using a disruptive technology backbone built around Samsung’s mobile payment service – Samsung Pay – that has been launched globally.

The team from IIT Madras presented a solution on leadership strategy in digital payments

The team from IIT Madras received a thunderous applause from an audience of around 100 people, comprising the top brass of Samsung South West Asia.

Members of the winning team said they had finalized their presentation just a day ago and had not expected to win the coveted competition.

“We knew we were up against some very good teams,” the IIT Madras team said.

The winning team members received a prize of INR 3 lakh and a Gear S3 smartwatch each from Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung SWA.

“The talk from the CEO was amazing and it said a lot about the culture of the company,” said a member of the winning team.

XLRI Jamshedpur won the second prize

The second and third prizes were won by the teams from XLRI Jamshedpur and Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi. The team from XLRI Jamshedpur got a cash prize of INR 1.5 lakh, whole the team from FMS received a prize of INR 75,000.

The team from FMS, Delhi came second runner-up

Students from the top two teams were also designated Samsung Campus Ambassadors and second year MBA students received a pre-placement interview from Samsung.

“The experience was great and much better than a few of the other national competitions that have happened. The stay was pleasant and the arrangements made were top class,” said a participant.

Students engrossed in discussion, mid-way through their presentation

All 12 teams that reached the grand finale of the first season Samsung’s campus program – Samsung E.D.G.E. – also received vouchers worth INR 10,000.

“The response from students has been overwhelming and we are extremely happy with the success of the first season of the Samsung E.D.G.E. program. At Samsung, we always strive to encourage young minds and nurture the spirit of innovation among them,” said Mr. Udaiy Khanna, Vice President – Human Resources, Samsung India.

Samsung E.D.G.E. program has been designed to engage with leading B-school and engineering talent across India, with students getting an opportunity to interact with the leadership team at Samsung, work on real-world business problems and come up with their unique solutions.

Launched in December 2016, Samsung E.D.G.E. is a first-of-its-kind campus program, to provide a platform that gives the country’s brightest students at leading B-schools and engineering colleges an opportunity to get a head-start in their careers.

Samsung E.D.G.E. comprised of three rounds. Three teams per campus were shortlisted for the Zonal Round in which all the teams closely worked on a case study and presented their unique solutions. A total of 45 teams from across 15 campuses were shortlisted for the Zonal Round in which the participants worked on different case studies and presented their unique solutions.

(Click the link below to download the Press Release) 

UP Chief Minister Shri Akhilesh Yadav with Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia

LUCKNOW, Oct 17th, 2016: Samsung India Electronics today announced expansion of its Noida plant with an investment of INR 1,970 crore, strengthening its commitment to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh approved the investment by Samsung India Electronics under Super Mega A by the state’s Cabinet Committee in Lucknow today. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, Shri Rahul Bhatnagar and Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, in the presence of Honourable Chief Minister Shri Akhilesh Yadav.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Akhilesh Yadav, said, “Noida is the symbol of Uttar Pradesh and India’s industrialization and growth ever since the economic liberalisation twenty years ago. Samsung has been our partner in this growth right since 1996. It has created thousands of jobs, supported business, developed the service sector, and helped give global recognition to Noida. Today’s MoU is yet another step in converting Noida into the electronics hub of India. I am happy Samsung is pioneering this transformation yet again.”

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung India, said, “In line with our commitment to ‘Make in India’ and living by our promise to ‘Make for India’, we are pleased to receive the Uttar Pradesh Government’s approval to invest in the state and expand our manufacturing base here in India. As digitization expands across the country, we are witnessing an increase in the adoption of electronic devices, appliances and mobile phones. A bigger and more robust manufacturing facility will help us address the needs and demands of our growing customer base across the country and the region. We plan to further the Samsung innovation promise across our Refrigerator, Mobile and LED TV range, offering the latest and best of the world to our customers.”

Samsung started its Noida plant in 1996 and continues to provide cutting edge technology and enriching experiences for customers across India from the Noida plant, with a large ecosystem of suppliers in the National Capital Region. As a responsible citizen, Samsung is involved in community development around the facility at Noida and across the state of Uttar Pradesh through contributions to education, skill development and healthcare initiatives.

In a journey that started in 1995, Samsung set new benchmarks in innovation led manufacturing and consumer marketing, and established itself as a truly national brand. Along the way, it effectively consolidated its position in India with two factories, three R&D centres and a design centre, employing over 40,000 people and establishing the largest sales and service network by any company in the country. By not only fulfilling its commitment to ‘Make in India’, but also living its promise of ‘Make for India’, Samsung has emerged as a truly Indian company at heart.

Samsung India, the country’s biggest and most trusted consumer electronics company, has announced a unique customer service initiative for consumers across India, bringing its world-class service to the doorsteps of lakhs of rural and semi-urban customers.

(Samsung’s new digital campaign, showcasing the company’s promise of doorstep customer service)

The pioneering move, which sets a new benchmark for customer service in India, involves the launch of 535 brand new service vans that will run around to reach consumers quickly and resolve their problem in the first visit only.

Each van, equipped with DG set and key fixtures, will have a multi-skilled engineer for providing quick response and on-spot resolution of complaints.

To complement the service vans, over 250 service points and over 250 resident engineers have also been added within one month. These resident engineers will be located in remote areas and help reach out to Samsung’s consumers in their local areas.

The new initiative takes Samsung’s tally of touch points to over 3,000, helping Samsung extend its lead as the country’s largest service network in the industry.

These vans will help Samsung deliver its world class service ‘Anytime, Everywhere’. Consumers can access the service vans by dialing 1800-40-SAMSUNG (1800-40-7267864).

These vans will not only help in faster adoption of technology among rural customers, but will also provide skills and employment in areas that need them most.

All of 29 vans – representing India’s 29 states, 7 union territories and 6,000 talukas covering several thousand villages – were flagged off by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Government of India and Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia.

The vans were flagged off by Union Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia

“This is a big initiative. It will take service to the doorsteps of the people, especially to those customers who are last in the queue. Let’s make Samsung, India and Bharat friendship a strong one,” Dr. Mahesh Sharma, said, at the event.

Mr. HC Hong welcomes Dr. Mahesh Sharma at Samsung’s Noida story

The new Samsung CSR campaign film was also aired at the event held at Samsung’s Noida factory, near Delhi. Dr Sharma said he was touched by the film’s story and complemented Samsung for contributing to the growth of the underprivileged children of the country. He said Samsung is leading the way in fulfilling the Government’s promise of Digital India and Digital Inclusion.

In a televised messaged, Mr Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Rural Development, Government of India, said, “I am happy that Samsung is working for rural India. This step will help make Digital India a reality. Samsung is also helping generate jobs through Skill India.”

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Samsung is working for rural India

“With the new service initiative, our customers in rural India will enjoy the same level of speedy and high quality services as urban customers. Our aim is to bridge the urban-rural service gap and we devised a solution which is ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’ which will create unprecedented service delight across the entire country,” CEO HC Hong, said.

The Noida plant was set up in 1996, and Samsung is celebrating 20 years of Make in India. Samsung is also committed to Make for India.