Secure Cam Expands into India with Rs200 Crore IT Project

Secure Cam IT Solutions, a United Arab Emirates-based security surveillance and IT solutions provider, is expanding into India as part of the launch of its global campaign.

The company has earmarked about Rs200 crore for the implementation of ‘Secure Our City’ in India. As part of the $1.5 billion worldwide campaign that was announced last October, Secure Cam has promised to install about 10,000 cameras for free in one city across 150 countries by 2025.

The IT service provider has registered in India as Secure Cam India with offices in Bengaluru and Kochi.

"We are expanding into India as the country offers a fast-growing market for us within the IT sector. The surveillance camera industry in itself is expected to experience a double-digit growth of about 15 to 20 percent in the next three years and we want to ensure that we are at the forefront of the growth story," says Chairman and CEO Rijoy Thomas.

Secure Cam, which has been a leading integrator of IT solutions and security systems, has been working with major corporates in the UAE and across the GCC.

The company will soon introduce its own branded products, which it feels, will help the company strengthen its position in new markets including India.

"We are looking at a market with growth potential in excess of Rs20,000 crore in India alone. By the end of 2019, we aim to establish our strong presence across various states in the country," he says.

Last October, the company announced a major global campaign to equip more than 1.5 million buildings worldwide with security camera solutions. At the event, held at the prestigious Armani Hotel in the world's tallest building - Burj Khalifa in Dubai, it was announced that the first phase of the campaign will be rolled out across 13 countries, starting with India.

"We are now fully prepared to kickstart the India programme," says Emil Jose, the COO of Secure Cam.

Secure Our City will be launched in India across five cities in a phased manner. "The name of the first city will be unveiled in June. Anybody who is interested to participate in the registration can do so by visiting secrecam.org. The city with the largest number of registrations will be given preference," explains Emil.

The campaign aims to demonstrate that the world can be a secure place with the deployment of the latest tech solutions and that a secure environment will naturally fuel economic development.

"One of the hurdles for economic growth within an urban area is its crime scene. That’s where the United Arab Emirates has shown a way, where the law enforcement agencies, powered by technology, have created wonders in maintaining law and order. The UAE example was one of the inspirations for us to launch this campaign," says Ahmed Sarour Al Marar, a UAE national and partner, and MD of Secure Cam IT Solutions.

A minimum of 10,000 CCTV units will be given for free in each of the five cities as part of the campaign in India. The unit includes an 8-channel HD IP camera system with 30-days recording capacity. Secure Cam is also offering installation, two-year warranty and one-year service for free as part of the campaign. The recording capacity of the hard disk will be based on market standards in different countries. "Our aim is to secure a city in every country as a starting point to prove that it is possible to leverage the available technology to bring peace of mind to residents,” says Rijoy.

Cricket Fever Builds as Emirates Reveals ICC Cricket World Cup Livery

Emirates has revealed its ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 themed Emirates A380 livery in the build up to one of the world’s most anticipated sporting events this year.

Former India cricketer and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2011 winner, Virender Sehwag, and Emirates sponsored Lancashire team players Saqib Mahmood and Tom Bailey helped to marshal the newly emblazoned aircraft out of the Emirates Engineering hangar. The cricket players were accompanied by Emirates Engineering staff who had worked on installing the decal, and who were later treated to a game of mini-cricket by the aircraft. The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup trophy also made its debut at Emirates Engineering earlier this morning, and excited employees got the chance to take photos with the iconic trophy.

Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand for Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to be the official airline for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. Today’s reveal takes us one step closer to bringing the tournament to life for the nations competing in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, and for cricket fans across the globe. Emirates directly serves customers in 9 nations participating in this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, and we look forward to sharing the excitement of this passionate sport with cricket fans and communities around the world, particularly those who will be feverishly following their national teams as they attempt to clinch cricket glory.”

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “I am delighted to be able to see the Emirates plane with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup livery making its debut today. It is a wonderful way to celebrate what I know is one of the most eagerly awaited sport events of the year and fitting that its first journey is to our hosts in England and Wales.”

The attention-grabbing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 decal covers a substantial area of 694sqm on the Emirates A380 fuselage and includes player silhouettes batting and bowling against a backdrop of vibrant shades of purple and pink. The decal was installed on A6-EOH, which is scheduled to fly today to London Heathrow in the UK, the host nation of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. Over the next few months, the aircraft is expected to fly to other UK points including Manchester and London Gatwick. Cricket fans and aviation enthusiasts alike can also look out for the aircraft landing and taking off in Johannesburg, Mumbai, as well as Emirates destinations served by the A380 in both Australia and New Zealand.

Emirates will also be flying most of the national teams to the event as they get ready to compete for the trophy and title of world champions of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales. The tournament will run from 30 May to 14 July 2019, with teams competing from England, South Africa, Pakistan, India, West Indies, Afghanistan, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Emirates has been a Global Partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002, and is a sponsor of both the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, and the event’s match officials selected from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires and the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, which also sees Emirates featured on their official kit. Emirates also supports other ICC events including the ICC Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

In the UK, Emirates is also the official sponsor of Durham County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club, including naming rights to both clubs’ playing grounds and their respective T20 representative teams.

Funsool Ltd Inaugurates the “Third Manufacturing Facility” in India

Funskool (India) Limited, India’s leading toy manufacturer inaugurated the “third Funskool factory” in India, making it the second manufacturing factory in Ranipet. The new factory is spread across 61000 sqr/ft. and is located at the Sipcot Industrial Complex at Ranipet.

The state-of-the-art facility will focus on catering to the growing export market. Funskool (India) Limited has been systematically expanding its presence across the globe with its own brands such as Giggles (Infants & Pre-school), Fundough (Dough), Handycrafts (Arts& Crafts) etc. and is also a major OEM player in the European and American markets for many international toy companies like Hasbro (Jenga, Scrabble), SpinMaster (Paw Patrol Toys), ELC, Flair, Drummond Games etc.

With an investment of over Rs.25 crores in plant & machinery the new facility is focussed on automation, and is ergonomically designed and equipped with special features such as a heat resistant roof to give comfort to the workers. The large shop floor is structured in such a way, that right from the intake of raw materials to the packaging of the final product, all processes are completed on the same floor, thus making it more efficient.

Speaking on the occasion, John Baby, CEO, Funskool India said: “We are happy to inaugurate our third manufacturing facility in India. Toys manufactured at Funskool factories adhere to the highest parameters pertaining to quality, packaging and other norms and this factory is testimony to the stringent norms that we follow.”

He also added “We have heavily invested resources into Research & Development in order to enhance new product ranges under our home brands Giggles, Fun Dough, Play ‘N’ Learn & Handicrafts. Additionally, this factory would also cater to the growing needs of the international toy partners for meeting their demands and have factored in the proximity to the Chennai port whilst selecting the location for the factory.”

Speaking on the occasion, Arun Mammen, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Limited and Chairman, Funskool India Limited said: “Funskool is a brand which has always been dear to MRF Limited and we are proud to inaugurate the third factory in India and the second factory in Ranipet. Having been in the toy manufacturing industry for the last 30+ years, gives us the onus of benchmarking the norms for the industry and we are proud that we continue to set new bench marks consistently. This new facility has been constructed keeping in mind the growing demand in the sector”.

Funskool also have licenses for Board Games from Disney, Nickelodeon etc. as well as for some of the world’s most popular board games like Othello, Stratego, Scotland Yard and several others and all these licensed products are manufactured at their own plants in Goa & Ranipet. The domestic toy manufacturing industry will be a significant driver for the growth of the Indian toy market, and Funskool (India) Limited endeavours to fully support this by enhancing investments in this sector.

The company already represents major international toy companies like Hasbro, Takara Tomy, Ravensburger, SIKU, Schleich, Playmobil, Meccano, K’Nex, Engino, New Bright and several others through exclusive Distribution Agreements for India.

World Down Syndrome Day Observed At Manipal Hospitals Bangalore

 

In an effort to draw attention towards Down syndrome and create awareness around this genetic condition, Department of Medical Genetics at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore observed the day and conducted awareness talks.

March 21 is recognised as World Down Syndrome Day by the United Nations. In India, every year, an estimated of 30000 children are born with Down syndrome which is a genetic condition marked by an extra copy of chromosome 21. It is associated with certain level of learning disability, a characteristic facial appearance and a weak muscle tone. Kids suffering from this genetic disease are at a greater risk of childhood leukemia, heart defects and immune and endocrine system dysfunction.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Mitesh Shetty, HOD, Department of Medical Genetics, Manipal Hospitals said, “Very few doctors are aware of the intricacies related to Down syndrome. We are creating awareness for the condition among clinicians since last two decades at Manipal Hospital. At the genetics department, we have a record of performing more than 14,000 pre-natal and post-natal genetic tests and have diagnosed nearly 500 Down syndrome cases. Apart from recognizing this disorder, we also provide support to patients with Down syndrome, which include a speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and many more, which help facilitate development of the patient. The ultimate goal is to make them independent and help them to lead a meaningful life.”

Sharing insights on the occasion, Dr Sridevi Hegde, Senior Consultant, Department of Medical Genetics, Manipal Hospitals  said, “It is advisable for all expectant mothers to undergo screening for Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities during the first trimester of pregnancy. Those at high risk of having a fetus with Down syndrome after the biochemical and NT ultra sound scan are counselled by a team of genetic counsellors and given first-hand information about the diagnosis, which helps them to make informed choices. In general, it is estimated that there is 1 in 100 chance of recurrence of trisomy 21 in the next pregnancy. However, the risk is higher if one of the parents is a carrier of a balanced translocation. Latest technology like pre-implantation genetic screening allows healthy embryos to be transferred to the mother so that she can deliver a healthy baby.”

At the event, present were some heartwarming cases of Down Syndrome babies who have excelled in their fields due to their strong will, grit and sheer dedication to excel in life. Ms. Karishma Kannan received the 2014 World Downs Syndrome award in Chennai and felicitated the Indian Cricket team during their visit to Chennai. A celebrated painter she recently exhibited her work in Bangalore exhibition in Nov 2018.

Mr. Kushal won 3 Silver and 2 Gold medals at Paralympic Swimming championship held in Haryana, Mumbai and Chennai in 2008 and 2009 respectively. He bagged one gold and one bronze medal at Asia Pacific Special Olympics held in 2013. He participated and won Silver and bronze medal in 50m Freestyle and butterfly in America World Wide Sports championship in LA, USA. Currently he is working as a swimming coach cum lifeguard in Bangalore Vihara Kendra, Banashankari, Bangalore

Ms. Dinal Jain won Gold and bronze medal in Asia Pacific Paralympic Games, Australia 2013. She has 30 medals from National Swimming Competitions. She currently works as an Assistant Teacher in Sneha Dhara Foundation.

Amazon.in Announces Major Deals on Apple Festival in India

Amazon.in has announced Apple Fest with special deals and EMI offers starting as low as INR 4,666 per month on best-selling Apple phones. Apple fans can also grab other popular Apple products like tablets, wearables and laptops at lowest prices until March 28, 2019.

This Apple Fest, iPhone X and iPhone 6S will be available for a steal. Customers will get up to INR 17,000 off on iPhone X with easy No-cost EMI tenure of up to 9 months. iPhone 6S will start as low as INR 27,999 with convenient No-cost EMI starting INR 4,666 a month.

During the fest, customers can get up to INR 15,000 off and avail No-cost EMI on Credit cards of all major banks on the classic laptop from Apple, the Macbook Air. Customers can also get their hands on Apple Pencil and iPad accessories starting INR 1,499 and Mac accessories starting INR 1,699. With a flat INR 5,300 off, music enthusiasts can treat themselves to Apple’s Beats during the Fest.

Skagen Brings to you the City of Color Across India

Filled with beautiful colours and celebrated passionately across the country, Holi is rightly called the ‘Festival of colours’. Reveling in this occasion, Skagen is all set to offer consumers with an eye-catching motley of timepieces.

Resonating with how Holi is a reflection of the Indian heritage and its dynamism, Skagen is launching its all new collection – City of Color - Aaren Kulør, staying true to the warm, vibrant spirit of the Danish coastal town that it is named after. These elements do not only capture the essence of Holi but also form the brand’s ethos that guides its modest yet purposeful design process. Inspired by the brightly colored townhouses of Copenhagen’s historic Nyhavn district, this new range is all set to premiere in yellow, red, orange, blue and light blue colors.

The watches feature a 41mm aluminum case with a sandblasted dial, linear and numerical indexes, two-hand movement and a seconds-tracking sub dial at the 6 o’clock hour. Priced at INR 6,995 onwards, these stylish timepieces are super affordable and the perfect accessory to brighten up your outfit, your day or even your mood. In addition, the inclusion of a quick-release pin construction makes it easy to interchange the silicon strap for you to create your own version of “Skagen kind of happy.”

Since its inception, Skagen has laid emphasis on celebrating the joys of life by recognizing simplicity as a core value. “Good design for better living,” driven by this guiding principle, Skagen creates watches, wearables and jewelry for audiences that crave modern design. With the goodness/ ability of/to looking great at any point in time and anywhere in the world, the brand’s goal is to capture what is truly essential through the art of purposeful design.

With the launch of the all new Aaren Kulor range Skagen has successfully struck the right balance between their long established philosophies of “less is more” and Danish Hygge culture of “finding your own happiness”.

A Growth Story for Kingston Technology During 2018

Kingston Technology, the largest manufacturer of memory and storage products, continues to achieve excellence by creating new industry benchmarks with constant focus on innovation, discipline and the commitment of delivering an amazing experience to customers. With over 60% market share for DRAM memory and over 22% market share for SSDs in Channel Market, Kingston Technology continues to be the leading manufacturer of Storage and Memory products globally. It has become a dominant force among consumers, enterprises and corporate organizations, for new systems and for system infrastructure upgrades. Kingston Technology provides memory and secure storage solutions that work together to give a more complete solution for servers, corporate and even SMEs. With their knowledge and expertise, Kingston Technology has helped businesses in managing a smooth transition and become future proof in the era of digitalization. Currently, the company has more than 2,000 products in its portfolio including flash storage, servers, and embedded solutions which are used in more than 20000 systems. With embedded solutions, the company is further aiming to significantly reduce the design-in complexity in products, shorten the qualification cycle and enhance the system performance at an affordable cost. This division is quickly becoming a core part of Kingston’s overall business as embedded memory solutions can be found in products as diverse as smart watches, fitness bracelets, digital signage, smart appliances, slot machines, smart beds and tableside machines in restaurants where you can order, pay or play games. In coming years, it is expected that most digital devices would have a Kingston’s embedded solutions integrated in it.

The success mantra of Kingston could largely be attributed to delivering a best-in-class quality proposition to the customers at a value price without compromising on After sales services. Apart from developing top notch technology, the company has also taken purposeful efforts in enhancing the customer service and achieved 80% of reduced turnaround time, low lead time and has initiated a personalized service to handpick products from customers and deliver it to their service centers. In 2018, the brand has also begun several initiatives to understand the end user better creating a positive vibe for the partners and customers across the country. Soon, the company will stick to providing a better experience to the users and making reliability as the cornerstone of the product strategy to maintain a long-term relationship with customers and partners.

Nathealth Announces the New Leadership Team for the year 2019-20

 

India’s healthcare apex body NATHEALTH announced its new Leadership Team for the year today. Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd has been elected as the President of the federation.  He succeeds Mr. Daljit Singh, President, Fortis Healthcare Limited.

Dr. Sudarshan Ballal thanked the outgoing President of NATHEALTH, Mr. Daljit Singh and warmly welcomed Mr. Rajit Mehta as Senior Vice President-NATHEALTH, along with the other members of the NATHEALTH Leadership Team – Ms. Preetha Reddy as Vice President-NATHEALTH, Dr. Badhri Iyengar as Secretary-NATHEALTH and Dr. Harsh Mahajan as Treasurer-NATHEALTH.  Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General, NATHEALTH will lead the federation with this team, towards its goal of creating a robust platform for long term growth and sustainability of India’s healthcare sector.

Speaking on emerging priorities President, NATHEALTH, Dr. Sudarshan Ballal said, “this has been a truly tumultuous year for healthcare and the events of this year will certainly shape the future of healthcare in India. The greatest and biggest news and development of 2018 is the rolling out of NHPM or Ayushman Bharat by the central government providing Rs.5 lakh coverage to about 500 million poorer sections of the society. Stringent governmental regulations, increased public and media attention on the cost of healthcare will substantially affect the delivery of healthcare in our country. The effect of demonetization, GST and capping of prices would further impact healthcare in a big way. The greatest challenge for the healthcare sector is to” deliver 1st world healthcare at 3rd world costs.” 

Given these challenges in the healthcare scenario NATHEALTH should focus on a much broader participation by various stake holders and be the “Voice and Face of Healthcare” in the country.

We should work along all the other forums for healthcare in the country at least in some critical areas and be the interface between the government and private sector in advising models for affordable, quality but viable healthcare for the masses. It would be crucial for NATHEALTH be an advisor and knowledge partner to the government on their policies regarding  preventive care, primary care, management of NCD, digital health, skilling and expanding the pool of specialists both in the public and private sectors.

We should also be the torch bearers for safe guarding the interests of the healthcare sector in these difficult times.

Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General-NATHEALTH said, “We welcome our new leadership team which will continue to work towards the development of the healthcare sector to benefit the people, address relevant healthcare issues and champion the progress and development of this sector.”

Padmashri Saalumarada Thimmakka Comes Forward to Advocate Sowparnika for its Go Green Initiative

Sowparnika Projects, a key real estate player in the sensibly priced housing segment, conducted a panel discussion with Sowparnika Projects with an aim to announce a collaboration with famous social workers in their initiative to make the nation a better place.

Padmashri Saalumarada Thimmakka, popular social workers Anantha Lakshmi and Urmila Chanam have come together to help Sowparnika in this mission. The association will focus on improving the quality of life of the people in need and simultaneously help them with necessary aids.  Since these famous dignitaries have worked on-ground with various communities, they will be able to guide Sowparnika in their impact-driven CSR activities.

The discussion dealt with the journey of the three women, their contribution to society and how one can get associated with Sowparnika’s CSR initiative -- Sowparbee, so as to bring about an impactful change in the society.  The panel discussion concluded with Padmashri Saalumarada, Anantha and Urmila taking an oath towards guiding Sowparnika towards impact driven CSR activities for the year.

Sowparnika’s CSR initiative Sowparbee, a community change driver of Sowparnika Projects and Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. felicitated the three well-recognised social workers.

Padmashri Saalumarada Thimmakka is an environmentalist from Karnataka; Anantha Lakshmi is currently spearheading the Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh, a National Association of Rural Women in India, founded in 1955 by her grandmother Late Padma Bhushan Yashodhara Dasappa and Late C Sharada and Urmila Chanam is a journalist and a knowledge management and communications professional, social activist, a gender rights activist, a blogger and a public health professional.

At the discussion, Raja Mukherjee, CMO at Sowparnika Projects and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd., said, “It is indeed an overwhelming moment for me to share a platform with three women leaders who have marked their presence in the society through their noble deeds. Their contribution to the society is remarkable and we look forward to a sustained association with them in our drive to help the society and make it a better place. I am grateful to Thimmakka for extending her support to Sowparnika and guide us through our journey towards the ‘Go Green’ movement.”

In line with this discussion, Padmashri Saalumarada Thimakka said, “We are all children of God and all our activities are nothing extraordinary, but our responsibilities. The nation needs a change for the betterment and contribute towards that is our duty. I would happily serve the nation till my last breath and would love to take up associations having a strong social cause.’’

Raja Mukherjee, CMO at Sowparnika Projects, further addressed saying, ‘’We, at Sowparnika, feel ourselves fortunate to have come across and felicitate these powerful women leaders who have made impactful transformations to the society. It would be our pleasure to offer them Sowparnika units and greet them to be a part of our housing community.”