Boeing-SELCO-KSPCL-DFY Set Up 100-Bed COVID-Care Center In Yelahanka, Bengaluru

* Fully-equipped 100 oxygenated-bed COVID-care centre in Yelahanka handed over to State Government

Boeing India, with Doctors for You (DFY)  and SELCO Foundation, today announced that they have established a 100 oxygenated bed facility at Karnataka State Power Corporation Ltd. (KSPCL), Yelahanka, to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases and support existing hospitals in the region.

Boeing India has funded the facility, Doctors for You – is providing the necessary staff and care, SELCO Foundation has set up the pre-fabricated facility. KSPCL provided the land necessary to set up the hospital.

“It is commendable that corporates have joined hands with the government in the fight against Covid second wave. It’s indeed a great pleasure that Boeing India has partnered with SELCO Foundation and Doctors for You (DFY) to build a 100-bed oxygenated super-speciality Covid care facility at Karnataka State Power Corporation Ltd. (KSPCL), campus in Yelahanka,” Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yediyurappa said at the inauguration this evening.

The hospital was built from the ground up in less than 20 days. Of the 100-oxygen beds, 10-beds are dedicated for ICU services and 20-beds for High Dependency Units (HDU) ward.  The hospital will also have areas for triage, donning and doffing, pharmacy, laboratory, rest areas, nurse stations and meeting rooms for medical staff. The DFY team will comprise specialist and generalist doctors, paramedics, and facility management staff. Boeing’s funding will also provide medical equipment, including CT scanners, ventilators, oxygen cylinders and concentrators, flow meters, and ambulances to the hospital.

“We sincerely thank Boeing India, SELCO Foundation and Doctors For You (DFY) for helping set up a 100-bed oxygenated facility in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. It is heartening to see private - public collaboration to augment health infrastructure in the state and create positive impact to people in need.”  D.V. Sadanand Gowda, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers said.

Boeing’s contribution is part of its $10 million emergency assistance package announced in April to support India’s COVID-19 response. 

The KPCL campus in Yelahanka was chosen because of its proximity to an already existing oxygen generation plant. The design and construction of the hospital has been done in an environmentally friendly manner - building materials were chosen to maximize thermal comfort for patients and hospital staff. Day lighting and solar power for night-time electricity requirements ensures reliability and efficiency.

“We are thankful to Boeing India, SELCO Foundation and Doctors For You (DFY) for establishing a 100-bed Covid Care oxygenated facility at Karnataka Power Corporation Limited. (KPCL) premises in Bengaluru. Thank you to all stakeholders for supporting the state in our efforts to fight the Covid 19 battle.” P. Ravi Kumar, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka said. 

“Boeing stands in solidarity with India and wants to be a part of the solution in the fight against COVID. Our ongoing relief efforts in association with our partners, are aimed at reaching communities most impacted by the virus and includes providing medical supplies, emergency healthcare and setting up COVID-care hospitals for communities and families affected,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India. “We thank the state government of Karnataka for their support and partnership that’s helped in building critical health infrastructure to treat COVID patients right now.”

About Boeing

As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity.

Boeing’s presence in India goes back to more than seven decades. The company remains committed to delivering value to Indian customers with advanced technologies and to building a strong indigenous aerospace ecosystem by developing local suppliers and shaping academic and research collaborations with Indian institutions. Boeing’s advanced aircraft and services play an important role in the mission-readiness of the Indian armed services.

Boeing’s local sourcing totals $1 billion annually from a large and growing network of 250 local companies that manufacture critical systems and components for some of Boeing’s most advanced products, including the 787 Dreamliner and 777 family of aircraft. The Tata-Boeing joint venture manufactures fuselages for Apache helicopters and recently added a new production line to produce vertical fin structures for the 737 family of airplanes. Through local community engagement we are bringing impactful change to more than 300,000 lives in India. For more information, visit www.boeing.co.in

About Doctors for You

Doctors for You was Established in 2007 by doctors, medical students and like-minded people with a vision of “Health for all”. Doctors for You (DFY); a humanitarian organization based in India, has demonstrated pioneering work in community-based disaster risk reduction, public health, training and disaster emergency response. DFY has been involved extensively with vulnerable communities in the 18 states of India providing efficient, effective and equitable distribution of health care for all. The thrust of DFY’s work is to provide medical relief, sustainable healthcare services, capacity building and risk reduction activities in crisis and non-crisis situations. Currently Doctors FOR you is working extensively on CPOVID relief and running 37 COVID Hospital across India, vaccinated 4.4 Lakh individuals and supported 135 Public Hospitals by providing Oxygen cylinders/Concentrators, Ventilators, Medical Equipment’s, PPE Kits & consumables. So far DFY has treated 42,000 COVID Patients and tested 2.5 Lakh Individuals for COVID19.

About SELCO Foundation

SELCO Foundation founded in 2010, advocates an ecosystem approach to relook at the Energy-Health nexus to be more impactful and make delivery of health more affordable, sustainable, and most importantly accessible. Under the Energy-Health nexus, SELCO holistically evaluates, after a thorough energy-health assessment, the gaps, and maps out the specific solutions (including aspects of efficiency, sustainable energy, and green building design) to improve the resilience of health centers and decrease cost per patient care over time. The integrated approach has led to better building designs, more efficient and modular medical equipment, decentralization of services, better human resource retention and mapping, effective use of technology and a more customized approach in the health sector. SELCO hopes the nexus approach will not only integrate sustainability into the health sector in a deep manner but also help the respective stakeholders to have a faster way to reach the goals of the sector.

Skill India To Train Over One Lakh Frontline Workers Across The Nation

* Introduces 6 new courses to support healthcare sector in its fight against Covid-19

* Short term customized crash courses available with 3 months on-the-job training with stipend and boarding & lodging for enrolled candidates.

Endeavor by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to support the healthcare sector specially reduce the burden of doctors and nurses.

With an aim to be better equipped to combat COVID-19 challenges, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today launched the ‘Customized Crash Course programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers in Healthcare’ to skill and upskill over one lakh COVID warriors across the country. The strategic and timely intervention will provide a new direction to the COVID response by creating an energised and job-ready workforce through skilling, reskilling and upskilling initiatives.

During the launch event, PM Modi stressed that with Coronavirus expected to evolve in future, the healthcare infrastructure needs to be strengthened and additional skilled manpower would be instrumental in tackling the virus to a large extent.

Covid-19 has put existing healthcare system under unprecedented stress, and the requirement of skilled COVID warrior across the country is more critical than before. Today, under the visionary leadership and guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minster Narendra Modi on augmenting capacity of COVID-19 frontline workers across the country, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has decided to create a pool of trained and skilled COVID frontline workers through a customized crash course program.

The program aims to skill and upskill, over one lakh healthcare professionals in job roles relevant and related to services required to fight Covid-19. The new job roles identified include Basic Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Advance Care Support, Sample Collection Support, Home Care Support, Medical Equipment Support.

The program will include a short-term training followed by 3 months on-the-job training in healthcare facilities such as primary health centers, hospitals, diagnostic facility, sample collection centers etc.

These six customised crash courses have been developed in the shortest possible timeline by Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) which consists of professionals from health sector; and approved by the skill regulator namely NCVET. To start with, the programme will commence in 111 training centres spread over 26 states and soon 1 lakh professionals will be available for on-the-job support at healthcare facilities across locations. Depending upon the demand received from the states, the trainings will be implemented in a staggered manner for on-the-job training adhering to covid guidelines in the States.

The candidates will be trained to support the urgent requirement of professionals in the healthcare system of the country. These support activities include

Support in working of basic equipment such as Oxygen Concentrator, Oxygen Cylinder, Nebulizer, ECG and Pulse oximeter.

Support in making an ambulance ready with all consumables, equipment, and other inventories for emergency.

In one of the job roles, candidates will be trained to provide support in handling emergency scenarios such as clinical emergency, trauma emergency, mass casualty, disaster management, etc.

Some of these frontline workers will support in home aide services and maintain data, entry, and record of the patients.

The courses will also ensure that candidates assist in sample collection including swab collection, Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).

Benefits to the candidates include a government certification, stipend, accidental insurance of INR 2 lakh and boarding and lodging provisions. The States are being instructed to get the candidates vaccinated, provide PPE kits along with facilitating movement pass for them. In order to ensure quality outcome of the training, special focus is laid on availability of Training Centre (TC) facilities & infrastructure, availability of training material, regularity of training including batch attendance and strength, trainer qualification, Training of Trainer (ToT) certification and more.

The initiative will support various states and district administrations in their fight against COVID and will also support in reducing the excessive workload of doctors and nurses. 

Talking about the initiative, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, said, “The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has made this special quality intervention in skill training, contributing towards our fight against corona. This is our endeavour to support the current healthcare system in the country which is fighting day in and out to save lives of more and more people. Under the visionary guidance of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we have launched these specialised six job roles, devised to fight Covid-19. This will certainly reduce the burden of existing healthcare professionals with rapid support, as the magnitude of COVID crisis and surge in number of cases has led to immediate requirement of skilled workforce in healthcare sector. It is important for us to ensure that the increasing demand for healthcare professionals is met to safeguard and better equip the country to face Covid-19 pandemic not just in current times but future as well.”

Sharing his thoughts on the specialised training program, Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New & Renewable Energy and Minister of State, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “Our nation is at war with Covid-19 pandemic and the need of the hour is to provide ample support to our healthcare fraternity. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in consultation with various state governments and Skill India Mission ecosystem, has acted swiftly to initiate this crucial intervention to further curtail the spread of coronavirus pandemic. Through this training program, we are giving an opportunity to our youth to enhance their employment prospects and also contribute their bit in the fight against Covid-19. I would advise all candidates to safeguard themselves first by strictly following COVID protocols in order to safely provide utmost care and support to the patients.”

MSDE will also work on upskilling of the already experienced health workers and PMKVY certified candidates, before being employed with healthcare facilities. With these efforts Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship aims to bring in quality support to healthcare sector and contribute to India’s fight against corona.

The launch event was graced by several important and distinguished members such as Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister of Health and Family Welfare; Sri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Minister of Steel; Sri Raj Kumar Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and MOS (IC) of Power and New & Renewable Energy; Sri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, and MOS (IC) of Housing and Urban Development; Sri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hon’ble Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare; Sri Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Sri AM Naik, Chairman, National Skill Development Corporation; Dr. Naresh Trehan, Chairman, Healthcare Sector Skill Council and representatives from 50 Training Centres across in 26 States and UTs.

GreyOrange Appoints Iresh Mehta As Vice President, Software Engineering

* Mehta to lead software and product development, to support growth of GreyOrange’s product portfolio

GreyOrange, a global provider of solutions that modernize fulfillment operations through the AI-driven GreyMatter™ Fulfillment Operating System and Ranger™ Robot Series, today announced the appointment of Iresh Mehta as Vice President, Software Engineering. Iresh will lead GreyMatter™ software development for the company, which will support product growth and expansion.

GreyMatter ™ FOS works with GreyOrange’s Ranger Robot Series (as well as robots and equipment from other companies) to feed real-time data into always-solving algorithms that calculate each next-best decision, whether solving for every-day omnichannel performance or solving for peak period commitments. “Iresh has a strong record of building winning teams and driving product success and his addition could not come at a better time, as we continue to build strategic alliances and enter new verticals,” said Samay Kohli, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, GreyOrange.

Iresh brings over 20 years of experience in large-scale enterprise, SaaS, desktop and mobile product development, leading tech and software strategic initiatives and transformational projects.  A driven and passionate technology leader, Iresh’s expertise comes from driving product success through technology innovation, sound engineering practices, and customer empathy. Prior to joining GreyOrange, Mehta was Vice President, Engineering at Quark, where he solely led and developed the roadmap and architectural vision for Quark's content automation platform and next-generation cloud-based SaaS platform. He was also responsible establishing Quark’s India development centre as an innovation centre.

He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Punjab Engineering College.

“I cannot think of a better time to be in a company like GreyOrange,” said Iresh. “The company’s success is attributed to its passion towards unique innovation and its people collaborating to solve complex business challenges. I now look forward to working closely with Samay and Akash to further the foundation set forth and take the scale to the next level.” Iresh, said on his appointment at GreyOrange

GreyOrange has seen exponential growth recently with its GreyMatter and Ranger Robot series, serving customer needs around the world. The company has been enabling technologies essential for companies to achieve high yield omnichannel fulfillment as well as to maximize facility space utilization through multilevel operation capabilities.

About GreyOrange

GreyOrange is a global company that modernizes order fulfillment through Artificial Intelligence-driven software and mobile robots built together so they cooperate in deciding on and executing warehouse activities based on a company’s priorities. The GreyOrange Fulfillment Operating System is driven by always-solving GreyMatter software that uses predictive and real-time data regarding orders, promises, inventory, shipping windows, and resources to orchestrate how workers and robots work as a team to fulfill the right orders at the right time. GreyOrange experts help organizations master fulfillment in the Age of Immediacy so they keep promises, capture more revenue, maximize efficiency and improve work experiences for warehouse employees. GreyOrange has core operations in the United States, Singapore, Germany, Japan and India.

Sportz Village Organizes A Webinar On The Importance Of Boosting Immunity Among Children During Covid

Covid-19 has forced all of us, including the children, to completely change our lifestyles. This change of lifestyle has affected the children the most with lesser amounts of physical activities and movement compared to the pre-covid times.  

According to UNICEF , since January 2020, over 7,100 children and adolescents died from Covid-19. Moreover, the recent National Family Health Survey, which was conducted in the pre-covid time, observed an increase in obesity among children in 20 out of the 22 states. Several healthcare experts believe that this trend of obesity among children is expected to worsen in the wake of the current pandemic due to the lack of adequate physical activities and unhealthy eating habits. Additionally, it has also been observed that children and adolescents are susceptible to stress and anxiety because of the disruptions brought upon in their daily lives due to Covid-19.  

The likely emergence of a possible third Covid wave along with the absence of vaccine for children in India has had the parents worried about their child’s health and safety for quite some time. 

Keeping in mind the importance of maintaining health and fitness among children, Sportz Village organized a webinar, titled, “Building Children’s Immunity to Fight Covid-19”, on June 17th, 2021. The webinar focused on communicating the need for children to boost their immunity along with providing guidance to schools and parents on how they can help children in keeping active, healthy, and safe. The webinar was attended by 340 attendees.  

Keynote speakers of the webinar were Dr. Aruna Jagdish, MBBS, D.C.H. Pediatrician, Bangalore, Ms Anagha Pandit, Clinical Psychologist and Therapist, Bangalore, and KVS Seshasai, CEO EuroKids & Kangaroo Kids Pre-School. The webinar was moderated by Krish Iyengar, Head, Sportz Village Schools.  

In the webinar, Dr. Aruna shed light upon the importance of boosting immunity not only in children but in the entire family. She stressed upon the fact that consuming nutritious meals and aiming to become lean should be the mission of the entire family. She also emphasized on the importance on maintaining Covid safety protocols and urged parents and grandparents to get vaccinated and avoid getting infected. Parents should also take care of their child’s sleep cycle. Stating that children who play are happy and fit children, she also discussed the importance of physical activity, and suggested that children should focus on mindfulness activities.  

Ms. Anagha Pandit stressed upon the importance of mental health. Moreover, she elaborated on the psychological impact of lockdown in terms of isolation and social deprivation. She strongly recommended making home a child’s new playground and advised parents to involve their children in a few age-appropriate household chores as a means of family bonding and getting some physical activity in children. When children are involved in physical activity, they release happy hormones which further reduces stress in them. 

Mr. KVS Seshasai, an expert in the educational field, laid emphasis on maintaining the all-round development of children in the virtual way as well. He also mentioned the importance of taking this time to teach the children the fundamental sports skills and developing muscle strength in them. In his set of schools, they have been following age-appropriate physical education classes which are guided by professionals. He also called out that both teachers and children have adapted well to the digital medium now.  

The webinar was concluded by a thankyou note from Krish Iyengar, Sportz Village, wherein he acknowledged that nutritious diet, adequate sleep and regular physical activity are key elements for boosting a child’s immunity. Moreover, parents can be instrumental in helping children maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle. Lockdown does not mean that children adapt to a sedentary lifestyle, Covid or No Covid, children should be physically and mentally fit and healthy for their all-round development. 

Edukemy Announces “All India Scholarship Tests For UPSC Aspirants”

Edukemy, India’s first EdTech Company in the non-STEM segment today announced All India ScholarshipTests for UPSC aspirants. The aim of this scholarship exam is to offer financial support to merit students during the COVID pandemic.  

These tests are designed to help evaluate students on merit giving a chance to avail upto 100% scholarship across courses offered by Edukemy. And the students scoring above 15 marks will receive Edukemy’s lifetime card to avail scholarship across all courses until clearing UPSC Exams - 2022 -2023. 

The scholarship Tests will be conducted every weekend and students will get a single attempt to clear the test. The test schedule is as follows: 

Week 1: 19th - 20th June                

Week 2: 26th - 27th June              

Week 3: 3rd - 4th July 

Test Timings window(36 hrs.): Saturday 10am to Sunday 10 pm 

The tests commence from 19th June and students can visit the website: https://www.edukemy.com  to register.   

About Edukemy 

Edukemy is India’s first EdTech company in the non-stem segment that has developed an evaluation model based on cutting-edge technology and expert pedagogy. The priority is to scale the learning experience for every individual by offering an insightful and enriching environment for students with a focus on live classes, handwritten notes, and a personalized interactive platform. With more than 50 years of cumulative experience at teaching and mentoring students, Edukemy strives each day, with every single student, to make a difference. They intend to democratize education by delivering quality content, valuable mentorship and believe in disrupting the normal and bringing innovation in methods of teaching. 

TVS Eurogrip Celebrates “Father’s Day With A New Social Media Campaign”

* Highlights how fathers “Turn Things Around” on Father’s Day 2021 

TVS Srichakra Limited, India’s leading 2 & 3-wheeler Tyre Company, has rolled out a social media campaign #TurnItAround to celebrate Father’s Day 2021. Taking a simple, contextual situation that children are experiencing right now, due to the second wave of the pandemic, the campaign talks about how Fathers are our everyday heroes who can turn around any situation.  

Commenting on the campaign Mr. P Madhavan, EVP – Sales & Marketing, TVS Srichakra Limited, said, “The insight picked up for our Father’s Day campaign is extremely relatable to present day fathers of young children. It brings alive the bond cherished between a father and his daughter, through a simple act of ‘motorbike ride’ together. #TurnItAround is themed around how despite limitations presented by the pandemic, fathers have managed to engage and bring a smile on the face of their kids. We as a brand, stand by them.” 

The video is live across all social media platforms. 

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzu5mOwivQs 

Tata Motors Launches ‘16 Saal Bemisaal’ Campaign To Celebrate The Legendary Ace’s 16th Anniversary

* The Tata Ace continues its 16-year legacy as the most successful commercial vehicle in the country

Commemorating 16 strong years of the Tata Ace, the most popular small commercial vehicle (SCV) of the country, Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has announced the launch of the new ‘16 saal bemisaal’ campaign. To celebrate this feat, Tata Motors has organised roadshows, wherein Tata Aces will travel across 10 states in the country. Tata Motors will leverage this opportunity to distribute medical facemasks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign will aim to showcase the benefits and rewards of starting a small-scale logistics business, especially in this pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Cumulatively, the Aces will travel a distance of around 4 lakh kilometres. Patrons will also be able to test drive the vehicle to gain a first-hand experience of its comfort and drivability.

The Tata Ace has been the pioneer in the 4-wheel small commercial vehicle segment in India, with more than 60% market share in the mini-truck segment. Tata Ace forged a foundation of mini-trucks in India, in addition to retaining the most preferred choice for Indian entrepreneurs over the past 16 years. Since its launch in 2005, the mini-truck, popularly known as ‘Chotta Haathi’, has proven to be a strong, reliable vehicle, providing a means of livelihood and gateway to entrepreneurship for over 2.3 million (23 lakh) Indians. The Tata Ace has helped build the nation, catering to the evolving cargo transportation needs of the country, and has rightfully grown into being the most successful Indian commercial vehicle of all times.

Tata Motors’ continuous engagement with customers and assessment of customer requirements has fuelled the meticulous and comprehensive planning involved in the design and development of the Tata Ace. Its ease of acquisition, powered by favourable pricing, complementing the low operating and maintenance costs and high fuel efficiency, has been integral to the vehicle’s success. The vehicle has been aptly engineered for maximising revenues by ensuring more trips, superior load carrying capability and a quicker turnaround time, meeting requirements of both rural and urban transportation.

Speaking about the pioneering mini-truck, Mr Vinay Pathak, Vice President, Product Line – SCV & PU, Tata Motors, said, “Tata Motors has always led the way for bringing safer, smarter and valuable offerings to its customers, keeping up with changing times. The evolution of Tata Ace over the last 16 years and customers’ trust in the Ace brand is a testament to Tata Motors’ strong engineering prowess, as well as the company’s customer value creation philosophy. The ‘16 saal bemisaal’ campaign depicting the Tata Ace family’s prosperous endeavours is a subject of immense pride not only for Tata Motors but also for the 23 lakh-plus owners. The Tata Ace is a great first investment for budding entrepreneurs in the transportation sector, and we remain confident of its continued appreciation in the coming years. With the recent BS6 upgrade, the Ace has been appreciated for its high fuel efficiency, wider fuel options and high load carrying capability, thereby enhancing the customer’s earning potential.”

Today, the iconic Ace Gold is available in diesel, petrol and CNG options, and is deployed for multiple applications, including market logistics, distribution of fruits, vegetables and Agri products, beverages FMCG and FMCD goods, e-commerce, parcel & courier, furniture, packed LPG cylinders, dairy, pharma and food products, refrigerated transport, as well as waste management applications.

Tata Motors has tied up with leading banks such as the State Bank of India and other financial institutions for convenient financing options and easy purchase of its SCV range, in both rural and urban areas. Additionally, Tata Motors also extends various vehicle care programs, fleet management solutions, annual maintenance packages and resale for commercial vehicles under the Sampoorna Seva 2.0 initiative. Some of the standout features of this bouquet of benefits are Tata Alert offering 24x7 roadside assistance for all vehicles under warranty, Tata Kavach to ensure that all accidental vehicles insured under Tata Motors Insurance are repaired within 15 days, and a service turnaround time guarantee under Tata Zippy to ensure maximum uptime.

Tata Ace, India’s highest-selling mini truck, is well poised to lead the last-mile distribution segment in the Indian trucking space and generate millions of success stories for years to come.

MAHE Is Ranked Second Among Top Private University In India Under QS World Rankings

* In the 18th edition of the QS World rankings, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) was among 1673 analyzed universities and 1300 institutions from 93 countries across globe.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is now ranked as the second top-ranked private university in India according to the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking 2022. In the 18th edition of the rankings, MAHE figures in the 751-800 band, among 1673 analyzed universities and 1300 institutions ranked from 93 countries.  MAHE’s performance was noted among the top 58 percent in the Rankings this time. 

For the Quacquarelli Symonds, World University Ranking universities are evaluated on six performance indicators: Academic reputation, Employer reputation, student-to-faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio. Four of the indicators are based on hard data, and the remaining two are based on major global surveys – one of the academics and another of employers – each the largest of their kind and for the 2022 Rankings, QS has analyzed over 96 million citations from more than 14.7 million recorded publications, before evaluating 1300 Universities.

Dr. HS Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, MAHE, says “I am extremely delighted to see that Manipal Academy of Higher Education is one of the top-rated universities among all universities in India and securing the second top-ranked private university in India according to the 18th edition of Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking 2022. Our university has lived up to our expectations. It is indeed a great honor for us. We hope to hold on to the position with the hard work of the faculty and students”.

For QS World University Ranking the subject-wise ranking was announced earlier this year where Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences was ranked in the 151-200 range in the Pharmacy and Pharmacology discipline with domestic rank 2. Kasturba Medical College, Manipal was ranked in the 351-400 range in Medicine with domestic rank 3, which is the same as the previous year’s rankings, and biological sciences in the 501-550 range with domestic rank 14.

Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE, says “we at MAHE are very pleased to celebrate this recognition of obtaining the position of second top ranked private university in India as per the 18th edition of Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking 2022. Our goal will always be to work towards excellence and to reach the very top. We will continue our onward progress towards higher rankings while providing quality education and infrastructure to our faculty and students.

In the Asia University Ranking 2021, MAHE ranked in the band of “351-400”. Overall, MAHE has shown significant improvements in terms of its scores in all the parameters, compared to the previous year. In the NIRF national rankings 2020, MAHE is placed at No. 8 and recognized as one of the top 10 Universities in India. Several other ranking agencies in India, have in their 2020 surveys, found MAHE to be the best private university in the country. Education World has ranked MAHE the top private university for the sixth successive years.

LSAC Announces Results For The LSAT—India 2021; 21 Students Topped The Exam Across Both March And May Administration

* More than 7,600 students completed the LSAT-India from the safety of their homes

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) today announced that it successfully completed the administration of the  LSAT—India 2021 with the release of scores to test takers on 17 June 2021, marking a new precedent for law college entrance examinations in India by administering two separate sessions of the test in a format which allowed students to continue their legal education journey despite the COVID-19 emergency.

In response to the pandemic, LSAC developed an online, remotely proctored format for the LSAT—India which enabled students to appear for the exam from the comfort and safety of their homes. No technical difficulties or challenges were reported in the administration of the LSAT—India conducted between 29 May to 5 June and, as a result, students and law colleges are now able to continue their admission cycle.

“Successful completion of LSAT—India 2021 in these challenging times will help students better manage the anxiety and stress which might arise from the uncertainty in admissions for the coming year. The fact that we were able to deliver the LSAT—India in an online, remotely proctored format, will enable students to continue their journey and for law schools to maintain continuity in the admission process for the coming academic year,” said LSAC Vice President Yusuf Abdul-Kareem.

In the Undergraduate group, there are 21 toppers this year across both March and May administration of LSAT—India

In the Postgraduate group, Sandhu Muskan of Panchkula has scored the highest percentile across both March and May administration of LSAT—India.

Scholarships Announcements

The winners of Topper’s scholarship and Shamnad Basheer Access to Justice scholarship will be announced in next two weeks.

As done for the last three years, LSAC Global will be awarding the LSAT—India Topper Scholarship – which will award up to ₹4 lac to the LSAT—India 2021 test taker who achieves the highest result out of all candidates who have appeared for the LSAT—India 2021 in Undergraduate group in either one of the administrations and takes admission into one of the LSAC Global Alliance Colleges

For the second year in a row, LSAC Global will award Shamnad Basheer access to Justice scholarship - which will award up to ₹4 lac to the LSAT—India 2021 test taker who sent the winning entry on the essay competition. This year, we have received more than 250 essay entries and an esteemed panel of judges drawn from academia and industry is currently reviewing these essays to decide the winning entry. 

In response to the pandemic, LSAC developed an online, remotely proctored format for the LSAT—India which enabled students to appear for the exam from the comfort and safety of their homes. No technical difficulties or challenges were reported in the administration of the LSAT—India conducted between 29 May to 5 June and, as a result, students and law colleges are now able to continue their admission cycle. The list of colleges accepting LSAT—India as one of their key admission criteria can be accessed at https://www.discoverlaw.in/associated-law-college.

The first administration of the LSAT—India 2021 was held on 25 March 2021 for which results were announced in April 2021.

About LSAT—India™

LSAT—India™ is a standardized test adopted as an admission criterion by multiple law colleges across India. It measures skills that are considered essential for success in law school. LSAT—India™ is specially created for admission to law schools in India by the Law School Admission Council, USA (LSAC). The LSAC has been helping law schools in various countries evaluate the critical thinking skills of their applicants for more than 70 years.

Yamaha Launches Neo-Retro Motorcycle FZ-X With The Concept Of Ride Free

*  FZ-X is equipped with Bluetooth enabled Yamaha Motorcycle Connect (Y-Connect) App

* Showcases an LED Headlight with DRL & LED Taillight

* Price Starts from 116,800 INR (Ex-Showroom, Delhi)

* First 200 Customers who will book online will get limited edition Yamaha G-Shock watch

India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Pvt Ltd. as a part of its electrifying brand campaign “The Call of the Blue”, launches its first Neo-Retro motorcycle for the Indian market, the FZ-X has innovative features & offers a comfortable riding position for touring lovers. The FZ-X can be availed at a starting price of INR 116,800 (Ex-Showroom, Delhi).

The FZ-X model showcases a Neo Retro design theme for a nostalgic experience while being packed with industry-leading technology to meet the riding needs of young India. It is engineered to be the ultimate riding partner across various riding conditions and is powered by an air-cooled, 4-stroke, 149 cc, SOHC engine. FZ-X offers a masculine and commanding presence &  comes across as a handsome motorcycle with strong metal components visible on the fuel tank, side covers, engine guard, headlight stays, the front fender, fender stay, and the grab-bar, for increased strength and durability. The front forks are covered with stylish black color boots adding to the overall style.

The new FZ-X comes with a 2-valve Blue Core FI Engine which generates 12.4PS of peak power at 7,250 rpm and 13.3Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. The exhaust note too is extensively tuned to produce a powerful sound.

The feature-loaded FZ-X is Bluetooth enabled, it also receives a Communication Control Unit (1st in India for Yamaha bikes), which is compatible with Yamaha’s dedicated Y-Connect app that helps users enjoy a fuller motorcycling lifestyle. Through this, the rider can check smartphone notifications via the instrument cluster icons, look at maintenance recommendations, track the bike’s last parking location, track fuel consumption, receive malfunction notification, along with a unique feature - The Revs Dashboard, which displays data such as engine rpm, degree of throttle opening, rate of acceleration, an eco-friendly riding indicator, etc on your smartphone. Other attractive and innovative features include a unique looking Bi-functional LED Headlight with Daytime LED Running Lamp (DRL), a newly designed negative LCD console with a Power Socket, and an LED Taillight. The FZ-X also comes equipped with Side Stand Engine Cut off Switch which is a standard and mandatory feature for all Yamaha two wheelers in India.

The new FZ-X gets a higher handlebar that is positioned closer to the rider, which in sync with a relatively flat and plush feeling step-up seat and well-positioned footpegs that offer improved ergonomics. The new FZ-X also showcases a minimum ground clearance of 165 mm and weighs 139 kg (with oil and a full fuel tank). On the convenience front, Yamaha has also offered a Side Stand with Engine Cut-off Switch, a lower Engine protector guard and for safety a BOSCH single-channel ABS with block pattern dual-purpose 100/80-17 (Front) and 140/60-17 (Rear) tubeless tyres to ensure maximum grip over every terrain. Overall, the Neo-Retro FZ-X gets a very mature design approach with a macho vibe and exclusive colour schemes to make it stand out from the crowd.

FZ-X will be available in the market by end of June and it will come in three attractive colours: Metallic Blue,  Matt Copper and Matt Black.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Motofumi Shitara, Chairman, Yamaha Motor India Group of Companies said, “We stay committed to offer best of our products to the Indian two-wheeler audience and FZ-X is one step further in that direction. Today, we announce the launch of all-new FZ-X, Yamaha’s first Neo-Retro offering for the Indian market that provides the perfect balance of practicality, durability, technology and style. It is introduced to cater to a larger group of customers that want to Ride Free and enjoy Yamaha’s leading technology, performance, and style, without compromising on the comfort required for daily commute. Going forward, we will continue to offer more such exciting products and experiences to our customers in India.”

Motherhood Hospital Conducts Home Immunization For Indian Kids

Amid the second wave of the pandemic, where parents are worried about taking their kids to the hospital for routine immunization and flu shots, Motherhood Hospitals, one of India’s leading hospital dedicated to women and child, has been taking routine vaccination to the doorsteps for the kids in the city. This unique service aims to ease the burden of parents having to visit the hospital for immunization of their newborns/infants, thus ensuring seamless and continued immunization care for children. All the 5 centers of Motherhood have been actively organizing this activity for the last few weeks.

Elaborating on the importance of regular immunization & flu shots amid the second wave, Dr Prashanth Gowda, Consultant Neonatologist & Pediatrician, Motherhood Hospitals, Sarjapur, Bangalore, said, “Parents must not ignore routine immunization schedule for their kids and the mandatory flu shots to protect & safeguard kids against infections. We have been conducting home vaccination drives to aid parents who are postponing vaccinations for fear of infection while visiting a hospital. We have recently collaborated with Prestige Ferns society on Sarjapur road and vaccinated around 60 children”. 

He further added, “All kids above 6 months of age are to advised take the flu vaccination, which prevents the kids from getting severely infected and reduces the complications up to 80%. Complications that may occur after getting infected will be significantly less with the kids who have already taken the vaccination than those who have not. In general, we already know that infections like the coronavirus or the flu affect the respiratory system and cause severe complications like pneumonia and other life-threatening complications. The vaccination in these cases will help in preventing them. On the other hand, flu vaccination will protect the children also from viruses that cause common cold. 

Parents can book the home vaccination facility in advance, and a thoroughly sanitized, fully equipped ambulance will be at their doorstep to cater to the immunization of babies. Since Motherhood Hospital adheres to strict covid safety protocols, the frontline workers are fully vaccinated for Covid and sanitization, and disinfectants are used to ensure and try zero infection rate while administering the vaccinations. It is crucial to complete all the doses of your children prescribed in the vaccination calendar provided at the birth of a baby. Noncompliance to the schedule and postponement of doses will only make your kids vulnerable to vaccination preventable diseases. 

Mr. Rajesh Gopinath (Parent) said, “The vaccination was done in our premises, so I did not have to worry about traveling. The precautions taken by the team were good- they were carrying a disinfectant, and everyone was wearing masks. My advice for other parents is to get their child vaccinated as per schedule as the vaccine will be beneficial for your child- don’t delay it. This initiative by Motherhood hospital is great since we can easily get our children vaccinated from the comforts of our home”. 

Mrs. Seema Sharma (Parent) said, “Home vaccination for our kids has come as a boon when we are engulfed under the fear of second and third wave. I urge parents not to delay their child’s vaccination.”

About Motherhood Hospitals:

Motherhood Women & Children’s Hospital network is India’s leading single-specialty chain with 12 hospitals across 8 cities. The network has more than 1000 specialist doctors associated with it who provide clinical services in Gynaecology, Obstetrics, IVF, Neonatology, and Paediatrics. More than 25000 healthy babies have been born in the Motherhood network and 5000 babies have graduated hail & hearty from the 150 specialized Neonatal Intensive Care beds (NICU) of the network. Each hospital has a state of art Operating rooms to provide Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Gynaecology surgeries. All the hospitals of the network follow NABH quality and safety accreditation standards. In addition, every hospital is supported by a full spectrum of Radiology services for women & children. More than 10000 women and children visit our OPD services each month. Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stands as India’s best and known as a referral centre for handling most complex preterm births. 24x7 Emergency services are provided at each hospital. Motherhood is the proud recipient of “FICCI Healthcare Excellence Award for Best Patient Safety Care 2019”.

Tata Motors And Tata Power Inaugurate India’s Largest Solar Carport At Its Car Plant In Pune

In line with Tata Group’s philosophy to promote green manufacturing, Tata Motors and Tata Power jointly inaugurated India’s largest grid-synchronized, behind-the-meter solar carport at the Tata Motors car plant in Chikhali, Pune. The 6.2 MWp solar carport deployed by Tata Power will generate 86.4 lakh kWh of electricity per year and is estimated to reduce 7,000 tons of carbon emissions annually and 1.6 lakh tons over its lifecycle.

Spanning over 30,000 square meters, this carport will not only generate green power, but will also provide covered parking for finished cars in the plant.

Envisioned as part of its net zero carbon goal for 2039, Tata Motors had entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tata Power on August 31, 2020. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, both companies successfully managed to develop this massive carport infrastructure in a record time of 9.5 months.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “At Tata Motors, we have consciously anchored sustainability in every aspect of our business by striving for more meaningful ways to reduce our impact on the planet, whilst providing exciting products and sustainable solutions to our customers. We have always been conscious of the need to conserve energy and are committed towards achieving 100% renewable energy source for all our operations. Our partnership with Tata Power to deploy India’s largest solar carport at our car plant in Pune is a step in that direction.”

“As One Tata initiative, we are proud to partner with Tata Motors and inaugurate India’s largest solar carport. Our partnership is a testament to our collective efforts to lower the carbon footprint and provide innovative and future-focused green energy solutions. We will continue to explore new ways to harness clean resources and offer them to our partners and customers.” Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said.

Being a signatory of the RE100, Tata Motors is committed to use 100% renewable power and has taken several strides towards achieving this goal by progressively increasing the proportion of renewable energy used in its operations. In FY20, the company generated 88.71 million kWh of renewable electricity which is over 21% of its total power consumption (up from 16% in FY19). This helped prevent the equivalent of 72,739 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The company further intends to source renewable energy more rigorously to meet its aspiration of sourcing 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

Tata Power comes with a successful background of executing multiple large solar solutions including the world’s largest rooftop (16MW) at a single location at Radhasoami Satsang Beas (RSSB), Amritsar; 2.67MW at Cochin International Airport; world’s largest solar powered cricket stadium-Cricket Club of India (CCI) with 820.8 kWp capacity; unique installation of solar vertical farm (120kW) at Dell Technologies at Bangalore and 1.4MW floating solar at Tata Chemicals, Nellore. In addition, Tata Power is carrying out an extensive pan-India residential rooftop program to make people aware on the benefits of savings through solar energy.

Microsoft India Announces Winners Of Cloud Champions 11 Program

* Recognizes 11 Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers for accelerating SMB cloud growth

Microsoft India today announced the winners of the inaugural edition of Cloud Champions 11, a unique engagement program designed to strengthen its commitment to partners in India. The program recognized 11 Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) for accelerating cloud growth for SMB customers between December 2020 and March 2021. The program received over 1000 registrations from 777 partner organizations across 92 cities in India. Open to all active Microsoft partners in the country with CSP business, or direct and indirect resellers catering to SMB customers, the program evaluated participants basis their cloud business growth across Microsoft Azure, Modern Work and Security as well as Business Applications.

Harish Vellat, Senior Director, Small and Mid-Corporate Business, Microsoft India said, “Our partners have been at the forefront of delivering cloud innovations to help customers transform and become more agile. Through the Cloud Champions 11 program, we acknowledge the resilience, commitment and customer obsession of our partners to empower our SMB customers in these challenging times.”

The winners received special recognition at a virtual Champions’ Night on June 17. The Champions Night attendees also gained access to a business session by entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo. The prize winners will receive professional mentoring from business coach Mitali Chopra. They will also receive a choice of virtual experiences, especially curated from across the globe, including sessions on positive thinking, family fitness, piano meditation, cooking masterclasses, and interactive music festivals.

More information on the program is available at https://www.cloudchampions11.com/.

About Microsoft India:

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 13,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.

IBM Collaborates With 30 Organizations To Re-Skill & Connect The Workforce With Real Career Opportunities

* ManpowerGroup will allow learners on IBM SkillsBuild to progress to in-demand roles by connecting their skills with current market needs

* This supports IBM’s goal of helping to skill 500,000 people by the end of 2021 through the IBM SkillsBuild program

At VivaTech today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) CEO, Arvind Krishna announced a new partnership with 30 global organizations including governments, community colleges, non-profits, and employment agencies, focused on improving underserved populations’ skills and employability. 11 organizations from India will be part of the collaboration and will contribute to IBM’s total goal of 500,000 by the end of 2021 through the IBM SkillsBuild program.

According to the World Economic Forum, closing the global skills gap could add US$11.5 trillion to global GDP by 2028, but education and training systems need to keep pace with market demands. In addition, as reflected in a new study from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), job seekers are facing big challenges, and one in four consumers surveyed globally plan to switch employers in 2021.

“Closing the global skills gap is one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM, Chairman and CEO. “That is why I’m proud of these partnerships, which will help people of all backgrounds acquire the skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing global economy.”

The alliances span 12 countries, close to 30 organizations, including 11 from India - The American Indian Foundation Trust, Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development, CSC Academy, CSRBOX, Edunet Foundation, Training Point, Reacha Foundation, Tata Community Initiatives Trust, Unnati Foundation, Uvi Jagriti Sansthan and Jeevitam-VSS Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd.

These organizations will leverage the online learning program IBM SkillsBuild with their members, mostly underserved populations such as veterans, women, minorities, refugees, and unemployed young adults. The program is designed to empower job seekers within 3-6 months with professional workplace readiness and technical skills, earn badges and credentials recognized by the market, in local languages, and with personal mentoring.

In addition, ManpowerGroup, a world leading workforce solutions company, plans to connect these job seekers to real career opportunities. ManpowerGroup’s Experis brand – global leaders in IT resourcing - will provide data-driven insight on the tech roles employers are seeking to fill, leveraging its experience developing talent and connecting people to positions in cloud and infrastructure, cyber security, data analysis, digital workspace and enterprise applications. ManpowerGroup’s Talent Agents will offer assessment, coaching and personalized support to help learners from organizations in this collaboration to access growth roles and build employability for the long-term.

This alliance will support IBM’s goal to skill 500,000 people by the end of the year through the IBM SkillsBuild program. In addition, the collaboration will also collectively seek to:

• Provide 15,000 people with special program-based learning experiences, including personalized trainings, and the chance to apply for a job.

• Connect the workforce with real career opportunities, including a commitment to secure 7,000 jobs across different industries.

“70% of employers can’t find the skills they need for roles like data analytics, software development and remote customer service,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO. “The only way we can address this acute talent shortage is through partnerships across business, government and education. That’s why we are pleased to partner with companies like IBM who share our mission to create a more skilled and diverse workforce, so everyone is able to have a more equitable share of prosperity.”

“IBM India is committed to empowering our nation’s workforce with the new-age skills required to build careers in the digital age. In 2019, we introduced SkillsBuild program in India in collaboration with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) and Ministry of Skills Development (MSDE) and have trained over 100,000 learners through the program so far. Eleven Indian organizations joining the global alliance will give a huge fillip to not just bridging the skill gap in India, but also in initiating learners on the right career path by connecting them to the best opportunities,” said Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India Private Limited.

“SkillsBuild is a transformative platform that is making high quality collaborative learning available to hundreds of thousands of learners. We have many programs that focus on education and skilling as a way to promote inclusive growth. SkillsBuild is a phenomenal addition to our arsenal. We are proud to be a part of this program,” said Nagesh Singh, Executive Director, Edunet Foundation.

“IBM's SkillsBuild initiative has given infinite opportunities for self-paced and mentored learning for youths who struggle to get professional courses and guidance in normal education programs. CSRBOX has been able to provide over 100 thousand learners access to future skills via SkillsBuild. This is an incredible contribution towards nurturing youth for India's future workforce requirements,” said Bhomik Shah, CEO & Founder of CSRBOX.

“We are seeing an increased demand for new skills needed in future tech jobs like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud computing. IDC believes that the partnerships IBM has announced are essential to helping meet the demands for tech jobs of the future. However, the partnership with ManpowerGroup is a perfect complement to IBM SkillsBuild’s mission of providing training for to underrepresented groups as it provides meaningful career opportunities to badged IBM SkillsBuild participants,” said Curtis Price, VP, Social, Environmental Responsibility and Ethics at IDC.

About IBM SkillsBuild

IBM SkillsBuild is a free, digital training program that helps adults develop valuable new skills and find jobs, regardless of their background or education. It operates in 141 countries, offering over 10,000 courses on cybersecurity, data analysis, cloud computing and many other technical disciplines — as well as in workplace skills such as Design Thinking. Participants can earn IBM-branded digital credentials and a global network of 90 nonprofit partners helps connect learners with local job opportunities. Most learners start with no experience and can be ready to apply for IT jobs within six months through participation in hands-on, project-based learning and mentoring support.  As of May 2021, 215,275 people have joined IBM SkillsBuild since its launch and completed 341,000 learning hours.

Trend Micro Offers Industry's Broadest Zero Trust Solution With The Unique Risk Insights Organizations Need

* Security leader expands vision to support and secure the post-pandemic workforce 

Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, offers comprehensive visibility into identity and device security health based on the industry's most comprehensive risk insights. This is critical for customers to successfully achieve true Zero Trust security. 

According to Forrester, "Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is the signature security technology of the pandemic. While modestly unchaining users from their antiquated VPN technology, it has inspired organizations to reimagine how security (and networking) can be consumed both today and in the future." 

With a dispersed workforce using a variety of devices to access corporate resources hosted in a range of locations, from the corporate data center to cloud or SaaS applications, companies can no longer assume verified or trusted devices and individual identities are secure. Zero Trust is the key strategy to enhance the security of critical data and systems. It is the way forward to secure the always changing hybrid workplace in a more agile, effective manner than legacy security architectures can deliver. 

However, the market is rife with confusion. Trust and access decisions are being made without the appropriate context or a complete understanding of risk based on so-called Zero Trust solutions. 

"For years vendors have been claiming 'Zero Trust' by slapping the label on any and all types of solutions without understanding how to actually measure trust," said Kevin Simzer, chief operations officer for Trend Micro. "Trend Micro is uniquely positioned to provide critical insight into identity and device health with its comprehensive XDR and visibility into email risk, which is foundational for building a successful Zero Trust strategy." 

Trend Micro's Zero Trust strategy crucially leverages Trend Micro Vision One's capabilities—delivering insight with the broadest XDR solution to cover telemetry across email, cloud, networks and SaaS applications. The strategy provides continuous security posture assessment and complete insights so teams can make informed decisions. 

Key highlights for businesses include: 

Risk and security health based on a continuous assessment of the user, device, app and content. This supports automated access control, flags incidents for alert investigations and creates dashboards for CISOs and SOC teams to make informed decisions. 

A secure connection is established based on the health assessment each time a device or user attempts to access the corporate resource. This includes a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) API integration to SaaS apps, network enforcement points in front of company resources and support for blocking access to specific applications using existing endpoint agents. 

Visibility for SOC teams into email usage is particularly key as phishing activity from internal users could indicate that user identities have been compromised—a common early sign of an ongoing ransomware attack. 

Customers can leverage Trend Micro's risk scores for Zero Trust to feed third-party SASE and other solutions via APIs—driving additional value. Senior decision-makers can leverage the insights and dashboard to better understand how their organization's security posture is trending over time.

Snapchat Premieres New Creator Shows - “What's On My Plate” with Anushka Sen & “Vir Das - The Most Epic Max Show”

* Watch Anushka Sen’s culinary skills & Vir Das' wit on June 19th & June 24th respectively exclusively on Snapchat Discover

Snap has announced the launch of its first local and original Indian Creator Shows, produced by Qyuki and Weirdass Comedy featuring leading television actress Anushka Sen and the rib-tickling comedian Vir Das. The shows are powered by unique concepts and relatable characters made for Snapchat's mobile first audience that are sure to resonate with the Snapchat community in India. These shows, will air exclusively on Snapchat Discover, were first announced in October 2020 alongside a slate of other exclusive and Snap Original content.

In “What’s On My Plate”, Snapchatters follow Anushka in the kitchen as she makes some of her favourite dishes, whilst taking on a series of cooking challenges set by her ‘Food Wheel’ Snapchat Lens. The weekly  series premieres June 19 with new episodes coming out every Saturday and will feature special appearances from Anushka’s family and friends who sample and rate her food creations.

In “Vir Das - The Most Epic Max Show”, he will take on seemingly impossible and new challenges, pushing his boundaries and trying different things. Each challenge is either ‘Epic’ or a complete ‘Fail’, but either way, Vir makes it a fun learning experience. The weekly series premieres June 24 with episodes coming out every Thursday and each episode will give viewers a glimpse of the real Vir and a sneak peek into his life and friends.

Snap’s Creator Shows are first person, personality driven shows made exclusively for Snapchat and available only on Snapchat’s Discover platform. Like all Shows on Snapchat, episodes average three to five minutes in length, are full-screen vertical and paced for mobile. Each series is authentic to the creator’s passion and is available to more than 70 million viewers in India who have watched Snapchat Shows in the last year. As of March 2021, Snap’s daily active user base in India grew by over 100% every quarter for the last five quarters.

“Shows on Snapchat are designed to both inform and entertain: created to reflect and celebrate the diverse voices, experiences and passions of the global community of Snapchatters. Snap’s unique original programming is locally nuanced for the Indian viewers. We’re thrilled to launch these two new Creator shows - each one a window into the lives of some of India’s most popular creators. ” said Vanessa Guthrie, Head of Snap Originals.

“During lockdown, I took up cooking as a hobby and discovered that I was actually pretty good at it! When I was sharing recipes and dishes with my followers, the reception was so positive and so I thought a cooking show would be really fun,” said Anushka Sen, “Every week I’ll be challenging myself to cook dishes we all know and love, but with a twist. My show is so different from anything I’ve done before, so I hope Snapchatters have as much fun watching as I did filming!”

“While the past year was extremely challenging, with being stuck at home for long periods of time, the one thing that the pandemic gave me was time. Time to recharge, rethink and revisit some of the things I had only thought of but never had the time to actually DO. While in lockdown, I had to find unique ways to entertain my audience and most importantly, myself. This show is just one of the ways I managed to do that. Through the course of this show, I take up tasks that are seemingly impossible, a little bit ridiculous and according to my friends, an absolute waste of time. It’s my mission to prove them wrong by just innovating a little, and having fun! I hope that Snap audiences across the country enjoy these light moments of fun as much as I enjoyed making them happen!” said Vir Das.

LTI Awarded Snowflake Global Innovation Partner Of The Year

* The award recognizes innovations like LTI Canvas PolarSled and the maiden Snowcase that accelerate cloud data transformation

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has been recognized as the Global Innovation Partner of the Year by Snowflake, the Data Cloud Company. LTI received this prestigious recognition during Snowflake Virtual Partner Summit held on June 16, 2021.

The award represents a key milestone for the strategic partnership between LTI and Snowflake and will strengthen collaboration between the companies to empower enterprises with innovative solutions and services.

With its automation-first approach, LTI’s unique Canvas PolarSled platform provides speed, performance, and risk reduction to Snowflake customers. The platform offers:

-  Technology strategy and consulting to help define Snowflake migration and data strategy.

-  Automation-led implementation toolkit powered by ML-based tools.

-  Governance toolkit to help sustain and optimize Snowflake cloud data platform.

Nachiket Deshpande, Chief Operating Officer, LTI, said, “This award validates LTI’s strong commitment to simplifying and accelerating customer’s journey to Snowflake. Our global strategic partnership with Snowflake enables us to bring the innovation needed to create data-driven organizations for customers. This alliance empowers us to become an integral part of an organization’s broader data strategy and be the companion in its digital transformation journey.”

“As part of the global strategic partnership, LTI and Snowflake invest in helping our joint customers migrate to Snowflake Data Cloud by eliminating the technology debt, and providing assurance by achieving a higher level of automation”, said Ketan Awalegaonkar, Chief Customer Officer at Snowflake. “LTI with its multiple innovative Snowflake specific accelerators & solutions, especially the LTI Canvas PolarSled platform, provides speed, performance, and risk reduction to the customers’ cloud data journey. We look forward to strengthening this partnership and building innovative solutions for our customers together”, he added.

Recently, LTI also became the Technology Launch Partner for Snowpark Accelerated Program. Currently in private preview, Snowpark simplifies an organization’s IT architecture by bringing more data pipelines into Snowflake’s single, governed core data platform. As part of this program LTI Mosaic Decisions and LTI Mosaic AI will facilitate easy adoption of Snowflake with optimized performance.

LTI is an Elite Services Partner for Snowflake, and launched the first Snowcase, a program to develop and market industry-specific solutions to accelerate cloud data transformation journey of enterprises.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 400 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 31 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unparalleled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 35,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Follow us at @LTI_Global

IT Purchasers Need To Eliminate Greenwash And False Product Claims To Meet Their Sustainability Goals

* New report by TCO Development helps IT purchasers worldwide avoid greenwash and false claims

TCO Development, the organization behind the sustainability certification for IT products TCO Certified, has released a new report ‘Navigating the Sustainable IT Revolution – The critical role of independent verification’. As India accelerates towards digitization, there is a growing need for that progress to be socially and environmentally sustainable. The purchase of computers, mobile devices and other Information Technology (IT) products are essential; however, it involves several sustainability risks. The report helps IT procurement teams worldwide accurately verify the social and environmental aspects of their purchases.  

In a global study of online environmental claims, 40% were found to be false or misleading. To avoid greenwash and false product claims, transparency and verification are key to validating an organization’s sustainable procurement efforts, and ultimately, their reputation. This year’s report takes a critical look at what purchasers need to do to avoid greenwash – and the tools available to reduce reliance on false claims. The report offers insights based on the experience with TCO Certified, along with expert voices from policy officials, NGOs, scientists, factory auditors, product testing, and procurement.

“With our Impacts and Insights report we want to give purchasers the insights for avoiding the common risks of relying on greenwash and false product claims. Getting proof of what’s actually happening in the IT supply chain gives any organization the confidence to stand behind their sustainability efforts,” says Clare Hobby, Director Purchaser Engagement, Global at TCO Development.

The report highlights three key elements for IT purchasers to focus on —

The IT supply chain – It is near impossible for a single organization to manage the many sustainability risks in IT procurement by themselves. To avoid contributing to serious issues such as harmful emissions, labor law violations or other health and safety risks for workers, traditional aspects such as price and performance must be balanced with environmental and social risk.

Independent proof needed to avoid false claims in procurement – Best practice in procurement means proving all sustainability claims and this places new demands on purchasers. Even the strictest sustainability criteria fall flat if there is no system in place to independently verify and monitor sustainability progress. Specifying ecolabels that have all these systems in place is a good place to start.

Choosing tools that can prove compliance and impact – Ecolabels provide purchasers with a simple approach of incorporating sustainable aspects in a wide range of product categories. However, many purchasers point to the overload of choice and comparing ecolabels can be confusing. Hence, they must choose ecolabels which have up-to-date criteria, mandatory independent verification, and a system of accountability. The most robust ecolabels or certifications ensure proven sustainability progress and continuous criteria compliance for the entire life of the certificate granted.

Ecolabels and certifications can make sustainable procurement a lot easier. However, the market for ecolabels is both extensive and varied. While some include a robust system of verification, follow up and accountability, others base product compliance on self-declarations and unverified product claims. Purchasers do not need to know everything themselves to be strategic and successful in sustainable IT procurement. Robust IT certifications and ecolabels do all the heavy lifting for purchasers, so they stay ahead even when legislation is lagging.

Toward sustainable IT products

With over 30 years of experience, TCO Certified is the world-leading sustainability certification for IT products. Our comprehensive criteria are designed to drive social and environmental responsibility throughout the product life cycle. Covering 11 product categories including displays, computers and mobile devices, compliance is independently verified, both pre and post certification.

EY US Announced Chakri Gottemukkala, CEO Of o9 Solutions As Finalist In Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 Southwest Award

* Celebrating the 35th class of unstoppable entrepreneurs who transform the Southwest region and beyond

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Chakri Gottemukkala, co-founder and CEO of o9 Solutions, was a finalist of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Southwest Award. Now in its 35th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors innovative business leaders whose ambition, leadership, and success stood out in a year of global disruptions.

Chakri Gottemukkala was selected by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced on August 4, 2021 during a virtual celebration and will become lifetime members of an esteemed global community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni.

Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive award programs for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The nominees are evaluated based on the following criteria: entrepreneurial leadership; talent management; degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact and building a values-based company; and originality, innovation and future plans. Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries.

Chakri Gottemukkala co-founded o9, along with Sanjiv Sidhu, because he realized the big challenges of siloed planning in global companies and envisioned how emerging digital technologies, like AI, Big Data and Machine Learning, create an integrated, end-to-end approach to supply chain management. His commitment to innovation and excellence is reflected in his leadership style of setting big goals but inspiring the o9 team to “Aim 10x in every process” and embrace the mission to be the Most Valuable Platform (MVP) for global enterprises.

“It is an honor to be a finalist in the EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 award in the Southwest category. Despite the volatile world disruptions of the last year, the entire o9 team was dedicated to achieving the best results for our customers. Being nominated for this prestigious award is a testament to the great results and value we as a team have delivered. It is an honor to be recognized among the other finalists in the Southwest region,” says Chakri Gottemukkala.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, to be announced in November at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in June 2022.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored by SAP America.

In the Southwest Region, sponsors also include Colliers International, Haynes and Boone LLP, PNC, Donnelley Financial Solutions, RHSB, Smith Frank & Partners and D CEO Magazine.

About o9 Solutions, Inc.

o9 Solutions is a leading AI-powered platform for integrated business planning and decision-making for the enterprise. Whether it is driving demand, aligning demand and supply, or optimizing commercial initiatives, any planning process can be made faster and smarter with o9’s AI-powered digital solutions. Bringing together technology innovations—such as graph-based enterprise modelling, big data analytics, advanced algorithms for scenario planning, collaborative portals, easy-to-use interfaces and cloud-based delivery—into one platform. 

LTI's Cuelogic Acquisition To Augment Capabilities In Digital Engineering Practice

 ■    LTI has acquired Cuelogic Technologies Private Limited (Cuelogic), a digital Engineering and Outsourced Product Development company, for a cash consideration of USD8.4mn (~1.5x EV/Sales on FY21 sales). Cuelogic's 100% subsidiary in the US, Cuelogic Technologies Inc., will also be acquired as a part of the transaction.

■    Deal rationale: Digital Engineering is a significant market opportunity, and this acquisition will provide instant access to a fast-growing business with an impressive clientele (CapitalOne, IAC, Pearson, WPP, Kantar Media, Travelpass Group, etc.) and more than 300 employees. It will help in enhancing LTI's digital engineering practice by combining Cuelogic's people, tools, methodologies, training methodologies and onboarding structure, along with its strong leadership team to support practice development, sales and delivery.

■    Cost of acquisition and deal timeline: The cost of acquisition for 100% share capital of Cuelogic is USD8.4mn on a cash-free and debt-free basis, excluding working capital adjustments. It will be paid as a combination of upfront consideration, retention bonus and performance-based earn-outs. The transaction is expected to get completed within 2-4 weeks.

■    Brief profile: Cuelogic, incorporated in 2010 and headquartered in Pune, is a digital engineering company with a 300+ strong team that include full-stack engineers who specialize in product development capabilities and have expertise in scaling exponential technologies. It works with customers wanting to build digital products, modernize legacy software with modern technologies leveraging cloud, AI and mobility, and offer Innovation Lab as a service to fast-track experimentation and capture untapped value from Digital. Cuelogic's primary focus is on building and modernizing digital products leveraging cloud-native methodologies across web and mobile. It works with enterprise clients on multiple facets of digitalization such as UX Consulting, DevOps, AI Consulting, IoT, Applications Modernization and Cloud Architecture & Integration. Cuelogic has successfully developed more than 100 products. It has reported revenues of USD3.21mn/USD3.55mn/USD5.5mn in FY19/FY20/FY21.

■    This is the seventh acquisition by LTI since it got listed in 2016. Earlier acquisitions have bolstered the company's expertise in data & analytics, cloud consulting, intelligent automation, and industry-specific platforms.

■    Cuelogic will be integrated with LTI's Digital practice, which is a focus area for LTI. The acquisition will augment its domain capabilities. Given the size of the acquisition (<0.5% of LTI's revenue), we do not expect any meaningful revision to our earnings forecasts. We have a Sell rating on the stock with a TP of Rs3,550 (24x FY23E EPS).

Toyota Motor Selects Nutanix Cloud Platform To Realize A New Way Of Working

* Nutanix Solution Enables Toyota Employees to Use 3D CAD Design Software Remotely

Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in private cloud, hybrid, and multicloud computing, today announced Toyota Motor Corp (Head office: Toyota-city, Aichi; President and Representative Director: Akio Toyoda) has adopted the Nutanix cloud platform to build a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment that can run 3D CAD software, delivering a new way of working for its Engineering Design Group.

TOYOTA, an automobile manufacturer with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide, was quick to announce its commitment to work style reform in 2016 and has introduced a work-from-home program for about 13,000 employees. However, there were varying degrees of adoption among different departments. For example, the Engineering Design Group was not able to support a remote-work model for all employees. Team members had to work from their physical workstations in the office whenever working on design projects using 3D CAD software. In addition, the DX Promotion Division was facing challenges with workstation maintenance and procurement costs.

To shift gears and solve the issue, TOYOTA decided to leverage hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) to build a VDI environment that can support high-performance applications and run 3D CAD software. The Nutanix cloud platform stood out for its ability to support Virtual Graphics Processing Unit (vGPU) functions required to render 3D graphics in HCI virtual environments. In addition, Nutanix’s flexibility and scalability were important factors to help the team quickly respond to changing business demands.

The Nutanix cloud platform enabled a VDI environment for approximately 1,000-devices and was up and running far ahead of TOYOTA’s initial schedule to expand its VDI environment. Employees in the Engineering Design Group also said the move enabled them to work in a new way, and this became even more important when they were forced to work from home due to the spread of COVID-19 but were able to continue performing design work without interruptions.

“Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies," said the DX Promotion Division’s Masanobu Takahisa. “In the future, we hope to also support CAE software on the VDI environment, and continue to promote work-style reform in the Engineering Design Group.”

In addition to expanding work-style options for employees in its Engineering Design Group, the move to Nutanix enabled TOYOTA to consolidate shared and underutilized workstations into its VDI environment, with the aim of eventually cutting the number of workstations to approximately half, which would also result in significant cost reductions.

“TOYOTA is a leading global company in the manufacturing industry, enabling employees to embrace the future of work. We are proud to have helped TOYOTA implement a new way of working, which was previously thought to be difficult to achieve,” said Matt Young, SVP of Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan at Nutanix.

Supporting Quotes From TOYOTA Employees:

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elementary school that my child attends was closed in March 2020, and I was also forced to work from home," said Naomi Tsuji of the Advanced Body Technology Development Division. “Thanks to the 3D CAD environment on VDI, I have been able to perform design work at home without any inconvenience.”

“When we would go to manufacturing sites for meetings, we had no choice but to present our designs using paper drawings," said Yugo Ichida of the Commercial ZEV Fundamental Development Division. “I always thought, ‘Communication would be smoother if I could use 3D CAD.’ Now, we can have deeper and better discussions while looking at the 3D CAD models together.”

Discussing the improved work efficiency, Masami Uehata of the ZEV B&D Lab added, "Before deploying Nutanix, paper drawings had to be printed and taken outside the office. With Nutanix, we can communicate with our clients and other departments while showing the 3D CAD screen during meetings. Being able to make decisions on the spot has allowed us to work more efficiently and reduce the amount of work we have to take home.”

About Nutanix 

Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software and a pioneer in hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, making computing invisible anywhere. Companies around the world use Nutanix software to leverage a single platform to manage any app at any location at any scale for their private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments.