BMA Awards 2016 Given to Nagendra, Bhave, Kiran Kumar, Dr Jawali

At the 63^rd annual Bangalore Management Association (BMA) 2916, eminent personalities like Hindustani vocalist Shymala G Bhave, Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar, cardiac surgeon Dr Vivek Jawali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's yoga guru S Nagendra have bagged the BMA Lifetime Achievement Awards-2016. BMA promotes modern management practices among professionals in various fields.

The awards were given away on Wednesday by former Chief Justice of India S Rajendra Babu. Space scientist K Kasturirangan and Aloysius P Fernandez (NGO Myrada) are the other recipients of the award.Annual awards: 

The 2016 BMA awards in various categories were given to Bangalore Hospice Trust Karunashraya, Samarthanam Trust, WeSchool, Bengaluru, Bharathi Singh (changemaker), Dr L Appaji (healthcare management) G R Mahesh, (promising entrepreneur), Seethalakshmi S (journalist), C M Reddy (entrepreneur), P Ravindra Pai, (young achiever), Pawan Ranga (innovative manufacturer), Ambika K Narayan, (woman entrepreneur) and Asha Prasannakumar (social entrepreneur).

BGS Hospital Patient Implants ICD-CRT Device Combo With Remote Heart Monitoring System

BGS Global Hospital successfully performed a heart surgery wherein, a combination of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) pacemaker was implanted to treat a patient suffering from heart failure and thereby prevent Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). A large percentage of patients who suffer from heart failure need special implantable devices for CRT. These patients then require regular monitoring of the CRT pacemaker and their cardiac condition. A CareLink device monitoring system is an important advancement in this regard, allowing patients to receive expert medical advice from their physician while at home or traveling. It remotely monitors the CRT pacemaker and automatically transmits important data from the implanted device and relevant heart data to the electrophysiologist at periodic intervals. It also automatically transmits data if some critical parameters of heart or device become abnormal, between periodic transmissions. The patient  Raghu, presented with breathing difficulty and edema. His heart’s pumping efficiency had been reduced to around 20% as against a desirable 60 per cent. This meant he was at risk of heart failure and SCD. Initial treatment involved medication to manage the correction of the reversible factors. The next course of treatment included an implant of combo device. The surgery which lasted around 90 minutes was successfully completed. With this surgery, recovery is rapid, allowing the patient to be discharged in two days. Dr. Yogesh Kothari, Electrophysiologist and heart failure specialist, BGS Global Hospital said “Patients with heart failure are at a high risk of developing Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA. SCA occurs most frequently in adults in their mid-30s to mid-40s, and affects men twice as often as it does women.” Emergency treatment for SCA includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. CPR keeps enough oxygen in the lungs and gets it to the brain until the normal heart rhythm is restored with an electric shock to the chest (defibrillation). It is CPR plus defibrillation that rescues the patient. According to Thomas Mathew, COO, Global Hospitals Bengaluru, Our integrated team of experienced cardiologists, electrophysiologists, world-class infrastructure, treatments and diagnostic facilities endeavour to ensure that our patients have access to the most advanced cardiac technologies and care standards whenever they need it.

Indian Market Outlook for 2017 Post Brexit, US Presidential Election & Demonetisation

“The New Year might see a negative start, and it might last for a few months. Political uncertainty following Brexit and post- US Presidential election and the demonetisation, we're cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. We suggest that investors should expect lower-than-average returns in the equity markets going into 2017. Key indices could correct by 10-15 percent in 3-6 months if domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sell off. December 2016 is turning out to be the worst month in terms of sell-off from global funds. But we expect things would start to improve in the second half of this year (2HCY-17) fundamentally. 

Post demonetisation, a new fear-factor has emerged in the market amongst the investors. Earnings growth for the next one-two quarters should be little tough from an economy perspective. We expect a fall in cement off take, in automobile, in textiles, in gems and jewellery, retail footfalls. The big liquidity crunch in the economy, that’s having an impact. Earnings growth in 2016-17 (FY17) will only be around 2-3% because of the very low earnings growth in the third and fourth quarters.

Above all, there is the movement of money from emerging markets to developed markets. The situation has become tricky for global fund managers, after the election of Donald Trump as US president.

The fact that President Trump is promising a major fiscal stimulus in February 2017 is obviously making global investors very excited about US markets. So, you have a slowing economy in India, potentially with more slowing growth to come, we have a banking sector which is a third of your stock market cap and the other side of the world you have the world’s largest economy now accelerating. We think the FII outflows to continue.

At the moment domestic institutional investors are holding the market, but if that support goes away, we have got meaningful market downside in the near term.

High valuation is another problem plaguing sectors with a domestic focus. Valuations had gone up without much earnings growth, so they may come down. Export-oriented sectors will also be a big beneficiary of the expected depreciation in the Indian rupee (because of a strengthening dollar). The dollar may go up to Rs 70-72 levels, which will help export-driven sectors to register push 15% CAGR in earnings over next two years.

We expect 2017 will start the year in a bearish way. Basic chart reading reveals a long term pattern with very strong support at 7500 points. Worst case, Nifty index will fall to that level, which still validates a bull market scenario.  In case of any major weakness in Nifty, the fall is likely to halt around 7400-7500 levels. Since 2009, in all panic scenarios, Nifty has been finding support at these levels in the past three to four years. We do not see Nifty even visiting these levels, but in case it does and it should recover much higher from these levels. Pharma and IT in that order will be best bets in uncertain times if someone has investment view of less than one year. City Gas distribution companies will keep doing well in the wake of rising crude prices and also increasing focus on green energy”.

In the last two years, the annual closing has been to the downside or almost flat.  Nifty in 2014 closed at was 8174 and in 2015 end it was 7946.  The ending of 2016 does not look promising.  The P/E level has also been flat during the last three years. During these three years Nifty witnessed the strong resistance at 9,000 levels on the upper side in the coming year, which also looks difficult to cross in the current scenario”.

LatestOne.com Sees 50% Growth of Technology-Based Accessories

While Mobile phone has become a basic necessity, some of the accessories such as chargers, earphones and covers have become essential for a large population. Technology based accessories such as Bluetooth headsets, fitness bands, smart watches, blue tooth selfie sticks, lens, power banks, cables, OTG sticks and VR headsets have increased at 50% YOY, making mobile accessories a Rs. 20,000 crore market in India. As India is expected to surpass US and China in mobile phone market size of the world by 2017, the accessories market is estimated to grow 20-30% year-on-year.

There are three different types of retailers for mobile accessories in India – online, offline and selling on online market places. LatestOne.com has focused exclusively on the online strategy and emerged as the No.1 retailer of mobile accessories in India in a short span of 2 years with a gross revenue of 80 crores and net revenue of 50 crores in 2016.

LatestOne.com also launched a wholesale site for b2b in September 2016. Within 3 months, over 1,500 dealers & retailers have registered and over a 100 have been activated by placing online orders.

Ameen Khwaja, the Founder and CEO of LatestOne.com said, “Rapid surge in mobile phone adoption in both urban and rural areas associated with rising inclination of customers towards latest mobile accessories is the key driving factor for the growth of this segment. LatestOne.com has launched 13 new products in the last 12 months in order to continuously meet these demands of online customers.”

In the calendar year 2017, mobile covers will continue to be the single largest product. Covers like printed and shock proof back covers will be in demand. Smart watches will come embedded with new features and less prices.

IDFC Bank to Roll Out Aadhaar Pay for Cashless Payments to Merchants Nationally

IDFC Bank has announced the nationwide launch of IDFC Aadhaar Pay, India’s first Aadhaar-linked cashless merchant solution that uses a retailers’ own android smart phone to enable cashless payments. Aadhaar Pay has been developed by IDFC Bank in association with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

IDFC Aadhaar Pay will enable millions of merchants across the country to facilitate cashless purchases for customers in a cost effective and scalable way, supporting the government’s initiatives towards boosting cashless transactions. 

Dr. Rajiv Lall, Founder MD and CEO, IDFC Bank, said, “IDFC Aadhaar Pay is a breakthrough in technology for cashless payments. It will enable citizens in the deepest corners of the country to participate in India’s digital movement, even those who do not own a phone but want to pay digitally. People only need to have a bank account and their Aadhaar linked to it.”

“It is, thus far, the simplest way to pay as it does not require a customer to swipe debit cards, remember passwords, or download apps. Importantly, there are no transaction fees for both merchants and customers. IDFC Aadhaar Pay will accelerate the pace of growth for cashless payments, giving wings to the government’s efforts towards digitization for inclusive growth,” he added.

IDFC Aadhaar Pay went live last week at a fair price shop in Andhra Pradesh, inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and was subsequently introduced to merchants in Delhi and Bihar. Over the past three days, over 100 merchant outlets have been using IDFC Aadhaar Pay.

IDFC Aadhaar Pay is a solution made available on a merchant’s smart phone.  A merchant is on boarded with IDFC Bank using e-KYC, within a short time span of an hour. An SMS link enables the merchant to download the IDFC Aadhaar Pay app on any basic smart phone. This phone is connected to a STQC certified Aadhaar biometric reader. A customer can pay the merchant with just two fields in the IDFC Aadhaar Pay app - Bank name and Aadhaar number. The fingerprint is the password, thus making it easy to use.

IDFC Aadhaar  Pay is unique because it is does not compel a customer to use cards, download new applications, remember passwords, account numbers, set up virtual payments addresses, type detailed USSD codes to transfer money, or even have a phone to do cashless payments.

In rural and semi-urban areas, where customers need ‘assisted digital’ banking formats, IDFC Bank’s Aadhaar Merchant solution is a perfect fit. The merchant benefits from the medium – as this being a new AEPS payment railroad, it has no merchant discount rate (MDR) attached to it and can provide the service to customers without having to pay the bank a transaction fee.

IDFC Bank has been leading on the financial inclusion front by using technology for banking the unbanked. In one such effort, the Bank has placed over 2000 interoperable microATMs (Aadhaar based) at kirana stores, chemists, dhabas, mandis, panchayat offices and other customer touch points, to reduce time and distance taken to access a bank’s branch or an ATM. This initiative has significantly enhanced convenience to citizens in deep rural and semi-urban locations across the country.

India Key Economic Forecast for 2017 and Beyond...

Real Economy: 
IIP for the month of Nov 16 is expected to be in the positive zone in Oct 16 largely owing to the base effect. Industrial production in the country continues to be plagued by weak investment activity, decelerating bank credit growth, weak external demand and lower capacity utilization rate. Besides the dent in consumption demand owing to demonetisation is also expected to impact production activity going forward. DnB expects IIP to have grown by 2.0%-3.0% during Nov-16.

Price Scenario:  While demonetisation is expected to pull inflation down as cash constraint impacts the prices of commodities, the impact will the transitory. Upside risks to inflation persists with increase in global commodity and crude oil prices, strengthening of dollar, US fed rate hike and downward pressure on the rupee. D&B expects the CPI inflation to be in the range of3.4%-3.6% and WPI inflation to be in the range of 3.2% - 3.4% during Dec-16, respectively.

Money and Finance:  Yields across maturities during Dec 16 is expected to be lower or at the same level as in the month of Nov16 owing to moderation in inflation. Also, given rise in bank deposits, banks are parking their funds in government bonds. However, the hawkish stance of both the RBI and the Fed would pull down the bond prices although in the near term. D&B expects 15-91 day T-Bill yield to average at around 5.9%-6.0% and 10-year G-sec yield at around 6.3%-6.6% during Dec-16.

External Sector:  Rupee is expected to remain under pressure in Dec 16. Uncertainty on impact of demonetisation, low productivity in parliament and ambiguity over the implementation of the GST on target date, uncertainly around global economy, OPEC decision to cut oil production along with strengthening of dollar will continue to exert downward pressure on rupee. DnB expects the rupee to trade in the range of around 67.70-67.90 per US$ during Dec-16.

Advanced Indian Manufacturing Policy to be Unveiled Shortly

The government is formulating a National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing as one of the key tools to attain its objective of increasing the contribution of manufacturing output to 25% of GDP by 2025 from the current 16%.

The National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing also aims to significantly enhance India's global manufacturing competitiveness. However, the government is mindful of the "threat to jobs" due to adoption of smart manufacturing.

"There are a lot of concerns, lot of opportunities, there are also threats particularly on jobs so how to make our policies, how to tailor our industry, how to get ready for this in a manner that the transition is seamless and our people are skilled enough, may be to relocate to other areas," said DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek.

He was addressing a meeting to seek stakeholders' inputs on the policy. The meeting, chaired by Department of Heavy Industry Secretary Girish Shankar, also discussed the framework for introduction of 'Industry 4.0'.

"The National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing which essentially is how to increase technological depth so that we become globally competitive and are not left behind," Shankar said.

However, he pointed out that framing of the policy may take some more time because it needs a lot of consultation, and invited comments from the public.

The capital goods policy envisages formulation of a National Policy for Advanced manufacturing which would include advanced materials, modern manufacturing like advanced robotics and 3D printing, among others.

The National Capital Goods Policy, approved by the government in May, envisages increasing production of capital goods from Rs 2,30,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 7,50,000 crore in 2025 and raising direct and indirect employment from the current 8.4 million to 30 million.

Relicance Comm To Sell 51% of Tower Business to Brookfield Infra

Reliance Communications (RCom) said it has signed a binding agreement to sell 51% stake in its tower business to Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure and its institutional partners.

RCom will receive an upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore ($1.6 billion) on completion of the transaction. The transaction will represent the largest ever investment by any overseas financial investor in the infrastructure sector in India, the company said.

RCom's telecom towers will be demerged into a separate new company that will be 100% owned and independently managed by Brookfield Infrastructure, thereby creating the second largest independent and operator-neutral towers company in India.

RCom will also receive Class B non-voting shares in the new tower company, providing 49% future economic upside in the towers business, based on certain conditions, the company said. RCom will utilise the upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore solely to reduce its debt.

RCom and Reliance Jio (Mukesh Ambani's 4G telecom venture) will continue as major long-term tenants of the tower company.

Last week, a Bernstein report said large Indian telecom firms may offload their tower assets in 2017.

"2017 may very well shape up to be the year where the largest Indian telcos all sell down their tower assets. We believe the likelihood of Airtel, Idea and Vodafone all selling (or at least selling down) their holding is high," it said.

In October this year, telecom major Bharti Airtel had said it will explore stake sale in its Indian mobile tower arm Bharti Infratel, where its holds 72% stake.

Its Board of Directors had authorised the committee of directors to evaluate option for "monetisation of significant stake in Infratel", Airtel had said in a BSE filing

Only 1% of Indians Pay I-T, Says Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog

Chief Executive Officer of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant said just 1% of India's more than 1.25 billion population pays Income Tax and the country cannot afford as high as 95% of its economy making cash transactions.

Addressing a workshop on Cashless Transaction organised by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Kant said India cannot afford as high as 95% of its economy making cash transactions if the economy has to be taken from $2 trillion to $10 trillion by the year 2030.

"Besides, only 1% of the more than 1.25 billion population pays Income Tax," he said.
Kant said there are more than a billion mobile phone subscribers in India and more than one billion Aadhaar biometrics have been created so far, according to an official release. He said with an aim to push India among the top economies of the world, the government has enrolled nearly 26 crore people under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and more than 20 crore RuPay cards issued.

The time is here to make a transition to cashless transactions, he said.

Addressing the function, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju asked NDRF personnel to adopt cashless transactions and utilise their vast reach across all corners of the country to spread the message of digital payments.

Rijiju said the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police forces personnel must take the lead as the nation is poised to join the leading economies of the world.

Seclore & TechnoBind Partner to Increase Distribution Network and Drive Growth

Seclore, the leading provider of Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) solutions, today announced its partnership with TechnoBind, India’s first specialised distributor for data and the associated domains. This association will offer support to Seclore’s strategic and business expansion plans in India and meet the growing needs of firms in the region for data- centric security solutions.

Seclore provides one of the most advanced, secure, and automated EDRM solutions to help companies in controlling and managing user access to critical documents and files. This comprehensive software suite comes bundled with industry-specific features, convenience, advanced technology, and connectivity that delivers automated file protection.

TechnoBind’s alliance with Seclore will benefit businesses who have been looking for a packaged solution that strikes the right balance between data-centric security and collaboration. It enables companies to secure sensitive data as it is exchanged and shared across a variety of different sources.

“In this era of consumerization of IT and enterprise mobility, end-users are demanding ‘anywhere, anytime’ access to information data. While it improves productivity, constant file sharing introduces new challenges to businesses.Seclore’s offerings will address some of the key pain points around Information usage control, information rights management and securing information as it travels.,” said Prashanth G J, CEO at TechnoBind.

Seclore has a growing client roster of Global 5000 companies in the banking, financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, telecom, government, and manufacturing industries that rely on Seclore’s technology to persistent protect information wherever it travels and is stored.

“Seclore is growing and we wanted a key strategic partner that would enable us to cater to growing demand and to scale rapidly in critical markets. The Central Government’s sustained focus on “Digital India’ ensures huge potential for Seclore’s business. TechnoBind brings in both the reputation of being a value added distributor and a widespread operational footprint. This partnership with TechnoBind makes us well positioned to accelerate the expansion of our business in the India market,” said Amit Malhotra, VP, Sales - India, Middle East & Africa, Seclore.

According to Seclore, interest in EDRM is growing rapidly. The benefits of EDRM are clearly being seen now across a range of sectors. The new partnership will bring new opportunities for both Seclore and TechnoBind’s, who will be able to tap into these verticals where data-centric security is the primary focus. This partnership announcement comes at a time when Seclore has won a recent ‘Channel Leadership survey’ award from a leading publication house for the best EDRM solutions. Seclore expects EDRM to take a greater share of the increasing IT investment in the region over the coming years.

Brocade Ruckus ICX 7150 Switch to Bring Enhanced Functionality & Performance

Ruckus Wireless, a part of Brocade, has announced the Brocade Ruckus ICX 7150 switch, an entry-level stackable campus switch for budget-conscious customers in the education, hospitality and small-to-medium business (SMB) sectors. For the first time, budget-sensitive organizations will be able to experience the same features and high performance that major enterprises enjoy while also being able to scale and grow accordingly without having to replace equipment.

“Access Networks utilizes enterprise-grade network appliances to provide the finest network solutions for its customers’ connected lifestyles,” said Hagai Feiner, founder and CEO, Access Networks. “As a long-term, satisfied Ruckus partner, we are very pleased to add the ICX switches to our portfolio. The new ICX 7150 switch is an ideal complement to the Ruckus Wi-Fi networks. It delivers the enterprise-class features, flexibility and scalability at an affordable price that we need. From the ability to upgrade uplinks from 1GbE to 10GbE with a license, long-distance stacking, and the ability to expand our network with other ICX 7000 switch families with Campus Fabric, the ICX 7150 switch does what no other competitor can match for the price.”

What:

The Ruckus ICX 7150 offers unprecedented, enterprise-class features and performance at an entry-level price. At the same time, it enables organizations to buy what they need now and easily scale to support growth and new technologies in the future.

The Ruckus ICX 7150 is available in 12, 24 and 48 port 10/100/1000 Mbps models with 1/10 GbE dual-purpose uplink/stacking ports. The switch’s Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) capabilities make powering of high-capacity access points (APs) and other devices along with data connection easy. Additional features include:

·         Software upgradeable uplink/stacking ports from 1 GbE to 10 GbE

·         SDN-enabled with OpenFlow support

·         Easy transition to Brocade Campus Fabric for network automation and management simplicity

·         Plug-and-play operations for powered devices via LLDP and LLDP-MED protocols

·         Auto-configuration ensures error free configuration and accelerates deployment

·         Hot-insertion and removal of stack members simplifies operations

·         sFlow-based network monitoring

·         Flexible stacking adds capacity throughout the network without increasing the management load

Who:

The Ruckus ICX 7150 switches are ideal for organizations in the education, SMB or hospitality sectors as well as organizations that are more budget conscious.

When:

The Ruckus ICX 7150 can be ordered now with volume shipments starting in February 2017.

Massive Drive in Every Indian District to Go Cashless By Paytm

Paytm announced it has launched a massive drive across India to inform merchants and customers in every district about the benefits of using its payments platform. This is a part of the company’s long-term vision to bring half a billion Indians to the mainstream economy by 2020.

The company has instituted its team of to sensitize the public about the convenience of using Paytm. The team is conducting sessions and workshops across schools, colleges, village panchayats and trade bodies. This is to serve the dual purpose of informing customers about the benefits of digital payments and tap into the widest set of merchants across India.

Kiran Vasireddy, Snr. Vice President - Paytm said, “We have received an overwhelming response to our efforts in helping every Indian merchant accept Paytm. Hundreds of thousands of people have reached out to us over the last couple of weeks with their queries and feedback. To further fuel this growth, we have set up awareness camps across all major cities, towns and villages. Our aim is to reach every single market across all district and assist millions of Indians in their efforts to adopt a digital lifestyle.”

Paytm has also made its user interface in Android available in 10 regional languages - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya and Punjabi. With this move, the company has expanded its reach to over 80% smartphone users in India who prefer internet-based services in regional languages, thus making mobile payments and commerce now accessible to all.

Anti-Tefton Activity Picks Up in India; Karnataka Government Likely to Join In Research Funding & Awareness

If you use your Teflon or non-stick pots and pans on a daily basis, you may unknowingly be exposing your family to hidden dangers. That's because non-stick cookware is made using a carcinogenic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which starts emitting toxic fumes that you inhale every time you cook with a non-stick pot or pan! However, the Bengaluru-based Hairline International after initiating research has started to build awareness among Indians on the use of Teflon products and its harmful effects. The centre is now getting the Government of Karnataka involved to fund the project and also likely ban on Teflon products in the state.

Research indicated that at high temperatures, the coating of non-stick cookware will also break down into a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas phosgene.

Teflon has been in commercial use since the 1940s. It has a wide variety of products used in clothes, food and even water because it is extremely stable (it doesn’t react with other chemicals) and can provide an almost frictionless surface. Most people are familiar with it as a non-stick coating surface for pans and other cookware. It is also used in many other products, such as fabric protectors.

Hairline International Research Report

Hairline International Research and Treatment Centre released a report on the effects of Teflon that contains Perflurooctanoic Acid (PFOA), on hair fall. The report was released by Dr. S. Sacchidanand, Director of Medical Education, Government of Karnataka. In this recently concluded study, it was proven that 80% of the cases visiting the clinic with hair fall are PFOA positive. What is alarming is that of these cases, 65%, irrespective of gender developed high cholesterol. 70% of the women developed Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) and 65% developed hypothyroidism.

Speaking on the release of this research, Dr. Sacchidanand said, “There are a number of products we use on a daily basis thinking that they are good for our health and lifestyle. However, research such as the one released by Hairline International today shows that there is a need to examine such products and substances in depth to truly understand their impact on us in the long run”.

Dr. Dinesh G Gowda, Dermatosurgeon Hairline International Research and Treatment Center says, “Once PFOA is in the system, it is metabolized by the kidneys and liver, affecting the larger organs significantly in the long run. There are a range of diseases that the average human is now exposed as a result of lifestyle changes and the hectic pace of life in general. What was once perceived as a move towards a healthy lifestyle can now be the cause of illness.”

Dr. Premalatha V, Dermatosurgeon, Hairline International Research and Treatment Center says, “We have routinely carried out numerous researches on the various elements patients are exposed to and their possible connection to hair loss. Teflon (PFOA) is a commonly occurring element in households and even in water, and we found it important to look into its connection with hair loss. This research provides a new approach to dealing with hair loss and looks beyond known causes usually found in textbooks. This approach takes into account the new lifestyle diseases that are now afflicting people”.

Bani Anand, Founder and Managing Director, Hairline International says, “Hairline’s research wing has, over the years undertaken numerous researches which have helped us enhance the medical management of hair and skin that we are dedicated to doing. Internationally, a number of researches have been conducted on the possible harmful effects of PFOA and it has been found to have negative effects. This research helps us understand how an everyday element can wreak havoc on hair and how it may be countered”.

What is Teflon?

Teflon coated pans are a common occurrence in most home, especially considering that these products are marketed for the health conscious. One of the substances it comprises is PFOA. Most of the fast food packaging as well as candy wrappers and pizza box liners contact food contact papers that have traces of PFOA in them. PFOA has also been found in industrial waste, stain resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids as well as in house dust, microwaveable popcorn bags, food and water.

Once ingested in humans, PFOA has an average elimination half-life of about 3 years. There are also reports that have shown in animal based testing that there is a connection between PFOA and the occurrence of bladder, colon and prostate cancer.

Understanding the Research; Research Methodology, Observation and Inference

Hairline International has conducted an observational study across 6 centres of the organization for a period of one year from October 1, 2015 to October 30, 2016 to understand the effects of PFOA in the blood and its correlation to hair loss. 500 cases and 500 controls were taken for the study.

A detailed history was taken of each the cases to understand their lifestyles and the number of times they use non-stick cookware in a week.

It was seen that 401 out of the 500 cases (chosen from the urban areas) examined tested positive for PFOA in the blood. These results were primarily from the age group of 18 years to 44 years and those working professionals who were regular in consuming food made in non-stick cookware at least 4-6 times a week.

The 500 controls, on the other hand, were Bengalureans from lower strata of society- mostly physical and manual labourers, who used earthen pots and steel or aluminium cook ware to cook or warm their food. Only 15 subjects were found to be PFOA positive.

The study thus concluded that 80% of the cases visiting the clinic with hair fall are PFOA-positive. High PFOA levels leads to a higher incidence of PCOD, hypothyroidism, and high cholesterol, all of which indirectly cause hair fall. Further studies are needed to clearly identify clinically meaningful aspects of PFOA-associated hair loss. Larger studies may be required to draw definitive conclusions.

CoWrks Workspace at RMZ Infinity Attracts MNC’s Like Boeing & GE

CoWrks, a Bengaluru headquartered co-working community venture has opened its doors to their second co-working facility on Old Madras Road (OMR) at RMZ Infinity. Some of the major companies taken workspace includes: Boeing India R&D, GE Wind Power India, Style Lumia among others have taken space in the private studios.

An ode to the technological and entrepreneurship spirit of Bengaluru, the facility boasts of a large format offering of 400 desks across 30000 square feet of space. An estimated 1100 people making up a homogenous mix of professionals from small scale enterprises, startups to a pool of freelancers, independent professionals & entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies are expected to move in within the next month.

The concept of “Coworking” is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an office, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation. 

Sidharth Menda, Founder and CEO, CoWrks said, “The concept of shared, collaborative spaces has gained a tremendous thrust in India in the recent years. The innovation possibilities that this category brings with it, remains a key driver for us. As a brand, community building and bringing like-minded people within the same ecosystem remains core to our business. Old Madras Road is an emerging destination where IT/ITeS influence from the neighboring areas and rapid infrastructure development have resulted in considerable growth in a short time. Keeping the uniqueness and diversity of this megacity in mind, we have upped the ante on the design front for the OMR space specifically to suit the needs of the likes of an independent artist to a large MNC team.”

The creation of this vibrant and diverse community at the two spaces has set the stage perfectly for the launch of their community-building mobile app ‘CoWrks Connect’. An important milestone in their goal of merging technology and physical spaces, the app will allow users to bring further efficiency to their everyday work. In phase 1, tasks like membership management, booking of meeting rooms, printing files, filing support tickets and keeping track of events will be streamlined. Commenting on the long-term vision for the app, Nikhil Sud, CTO, CoWrks said, “As our community grows, we aim to create a layer of technology to supplement and enhance our physical presence. This will empower one of India’s most dynamic and fastest growing network of millennial professionals as they collaborate, share industry expertise and grow in their careers. In the long term, we will bring in more high-tech features like an artificially intelligent chat-bot and an online knowledge-sharing forum to bring in even more social collaboration and convenience to our members. We are confident that insights gained from usage patterns will help us understand their needs better and enhance our offerings right from location selection to space design.”

This latest phase of its market expansion comes hot on the heels of the tremendous success witnessed at its first facility at RMZ Ecoworld in August earlier this year which is already at full capacity. CoWrks is now focused on opening 10 facilities, across 4 metros in the next 6 months as part of a growth strategy encompassing both, entering key markets, and member growth. The two facilities combined, now offer 1.9 lakh square feet of space including 3200 desks designed to stimulate a work culture that dwells on collaboration between communities of like-minded individuals.

London Bridge, Dragon, Demonetisation Shankar Nag Star Attractions at 2016 Annual Cake Show in Bengaluru

The 42nd annual cake show, organised in association with the National Consumer Fair, was inaugurated on Friday at St Joseph's Indian High School grounds. The show will be open to the public from 11 am to 9 pm daily till January 1, 2017.

The big attraction this year is the London Tower Bridge, a 24X7 feet structure made entirely of sugar and weighing over 500 kg. Making the individual towers, suspension cables, and getting the Victorian Gothic style right took over 700 man hours. Sam Ramachandran, one of the cake artists, said, "It took a lot of patience because everything has to be according to measurements. It is much like engineering."

Other major attractions include Thanjavur painting of a female dancer, with finely detailed with edible lace and jewellery. The creator, Purva Sadvilkar took special Thanjavur painting classes six months in advance to prepare for the final piece.

The issue of demonetisation in icing- new Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes blooming on a money tree atop an India-shaped mountain. Explaining the concept, Apoorva Bhargava and Khadijah Madar said, "The rising sun behind the mountain shows that though people are struggling, they are hopeful about benefits of the move. The river flowing down is cleansing the system of black money."

Another star attractions is the model of actor Shankar Nag in icing, a two-storey dollhouse made of cookies, a Rajasthan wedding themed cake, a queen in a Victorian Gown, a book coming alive with tale of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' are among the other attractions.

C Ramachandran, started the cake shows back in 1974 with a 14-foot model of the Eiffel tower. "I learned the art of cake decoration in West Germany and England. I want this art to continue growing," he said. The 76-year-old has now handed over the cake show to students from the Institute of Baking and Cake Art. 

Air Ambulance Service to be Operational in Karnataka from Jan 2017

The state will get its first air ambulance facility in the New Year.While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah formally launched the air ambulances on Friday, commercial operations will begin in January 2017.

Speaking to journalists after the launch at the HAL airport here, Arun Sharma, managing director, Aviators Air Rescue Limited, the service provider, said necessary clearances have been sought from the Director General of Civil Aviation to operate air ambulances. The services are from one airport to another as company didn't get permission to land on site.
The air ambulance would help patients reach destinations faster besides helping transport organs, blood units, drugs or medical equipment, he explained. H130 helicopters are medically configured with emergency medical services, advanced life support medical equipment and a stretcher. The air ambulance will have a doctor and a paramedic. If the patient is minor, an attendant will be allowed to fly. The ambulance can support a patient for 90 to 180 minutes, said Sharma.

The service provider has tied up with several private hospitals in Bengaluru. Patients would be picked up from their homes or hospitals by road and taken to a nearby airport. From there, they would be flown to an airport closer to their chosen destination. "It is a subscription-based model. For an individual subscription, the cost would be Rs 9,000 a year while a family subscription would cost Rs 18,000. Once the subscription is availed of, the service can be used any number of times throughout the year. Individuals without subscription would have to pay Rs 1.75 lakh per hour."


The company has plans to launch similar services in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to begin with and later extend them to other states. To avail of the service one can call the emergency number 155350.

Vivek Vasudev Kamath Appointed New Managing Director of MSD India

MSD in India has announced leadership change. K. G. Ananthakrishnan (KG) current Managing Director of MSD in India will retire in the beginning of 2017 and Vivek Vasudev Kamath will assume role of Managing Director Designate from December 16, 2016. MSD in India operates its business in India through three legal entities, MSD Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, Organon (India) Private Limited, and Fulford (India) Limited.

Vivek joined MSD in India in July 2012 and is currently the Business Unit Director for Cardiovascular Metabolics and Market Access. KG and Vivek will work together to ensure smooth transition of business responsibilities.

Announcing the leadership change, Jan Van Acker, President Asia Pacific Region, MSD said, “I thank KG for his leadership and his contributions to MSD over the past ten years and congratulate Vivek on assuming the role of Managing Director of MSD in India. MSD has a robust succession planning process through which Vivek was identified to lead MSD in India and to deliver on our commitment to patients and communities in the Country. He has successfully led our Cardiovascular Metabolics and Market Access businesses and has fostered collaborative relationships with our customers and business partners, while delivering strong growth”

Vivek Vasudev Kamath has over twenty five years of experience across India, South Asia and ASEAN markets. He brings rich experience with leading Indian and Multinational healthcare organizations in marketing, sales and general management. He has managed portfolios in prescription, over-the counter (OTC) and Diagnostics segments, partnering with healthcare professionals, consumers, diverse trade channels and Government/ non-Government healthcare entities. 

Microsoft’s Unveils Dynamics 365 and AppSource Services Across India

Microsoft has unveiled its Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite and Microsoft AppSource in India. These services will be delivered to customers as Software-as-a-Service (Saas) from its datacenters in India. Dynamics 365 is a cloud based suite of applications that integrates CRM and ERP capabilities to provide the full power of advanced data analytics, machine learning and intelligence to high growth, new age companies in India. Microsoft AppSource is the new destination for business users to find and try out line-of-business SaaS apps from Microsoft and its partners. Presently, AppSource contains more than 200 business SaaS apps, add-ins and content packs, including exclusive new industry-specific business apps. 

Organizations from across multiple industry sectors in India are using Dynamics CRM. These include Max Healthcare, Yes Bank, Reliance Life Insurance Company, SOTC, VLCC, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Annik, Mastek and many more. In the retail sector, Microsoft Dynamics is used by 55 Retail and DMS customers serving 74 retail brands, empowering 14,000 outlets, enabling 25,000 users in India.

Peter Gartenberg, General Manager, Enterprise Business, Microsoft India said, “With Dynamics 365 we now bring the combined power of CRM and ERP on a secure and flexible local cloud platform. Our retail, BFSI and manufacturing customers now don’t need to invest in expensive and time consuming deployments to start their digital transformation. Backed by decades of research and investment, we have built Dynamics 365 to deliver the most advanced analytics and machine learning intelligence capabilities to our customers in India.”

Anup Purohit, Chief Information Officer, Yes Bank said, “Yes Bank has been using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the past one year to deliver optimum services to its retail banking customers. Since inception, we have believed in using the power of technology to offer a superior banking experience to our customers, and through Microsoft Dynamics, we have been able to improve processes, get real-time business intelligence and make it easier for people to work together through collaboration across multiple devices. We see huge potential in Microsoft’s latest innovative solution, Dynamics 365, in terms of enabling banks to enhance their end-customer experience by leveraging real time insights and intelligence.”

With the app-based subscription model customers will only pay for the app they need, licensed to a particular user. By using these new plans, customers get one holistic subscription to have all the information at their fingertips, and they could save four to five times the cost of traditional CRM providers. Customers will have the option to choose which of the apps they adopt so they can scale on demand.

Businesses that embrace digital transformation generate an average of $100 million (or 8% points) more operating income each year than those who do not. There is a new speed of business that companies must adapt to, along with the rapidly evolving customer engagement mechanisms. There is a critical need to innovate in real-time, and all of this, with finite resources at their disposal. In such a scenario, Dynamics 365 offers a cost-effective, agile and easy-to-implement solution that enables personalization and greater productivity, allows real-time innovation, delivers deeper insights, and adapts to business needs.