LUCAS TVS Plans To Invest In A Giga Factory To Manufacture Innovative And Disruptive SemiSolidTM Cells In India

* The Company plans mass production of cost effective, safer and high energy density lithium-ion cells

Leading automotive electrical components manufacturer Lucas TVS Ltd. and 24M Technologies, Inc., developer of next generation lithium-ion battery technologies, announced the signing of a license and services agreement to construct one of the first Giga factories in India using 24M’s innovative and disruptive SemiSolidTM platform technology.

The first plant with world class safety standards will be set up in Thervoy Kandigai, Gummudipundi near Chennai and Lucas TVS expects to build other plants throughout India to support the growing energy storage, electric mobility and lead acid battery replacement markets. The Chennai Plant is expected to begin commercial production in second half of 2023. Based on the aggressive targets set by Govt in the Renewable energy and Electric Mobility space, Lucas TVS plans to grow the capacity of the plant to a globally competitive scale of 10 GWh in two stages.

24M’s SemiSolidTM platform has significant benefits as compared to conventional manufacturing processes.  The process, protected by more than 80 issued and 100 pending patents, offers a significantly simpler process flow reducing capital costs substantially.  The SemiSolidTM technology enables the production of a thicker electrode, increasing energy density and reducing materials costs.  Beyond its cost advantages, 24M’s patented cell design enhances safety, reliability, and traceability, by virtually eliminating potential metal contamination, the most common cause of shorts in conventional lithium-ion cells.  In addition to these benefits, the SemiSolidTM electrode eliminates the use of binders and thereby enables the simplest and most efficient recycling of rejected or end of life cells. These advantages make it a preferred choice for demanding customers in critical areas such as energy storage and electric mobility. 

The unique SemiSolidTM platform offers innovative solutions to the fast-growing storage and electric mobility markets and the emerging lead acid battery replacement markets and is already seeing large capacities being planned globally in Japan, ASEAN, Europe, East Asia and the US.  Lucas TVS will be the first to introduce SemiSolidTM lithium-ion batteries produced in India and specifically designed for the Indian market.

Lucas TVS plans to build products using different chemistries, in Pouch and Prismatic cell formats, with high energy density. The products will meet customer needs in e-mobility, stationary energy storage, including grid-scale markets, and lead acid battery replacement. Lucas TVS will also be offering complete battery solutions to those customers who need them.

“Lucas TVS believes in investing in the next-generation technologies, which is why we chose to partner with 24M.” stated Mr. T.K. Balaji, Chairman and Managing Director, Lucas TVS.  “We are confident that their innovative SemiSolidTM platform technology will enable us to provide our customers affordable e-mobility, lead acid battery replacement and storage solutions with improved quality and best-in-class safety.”

“We are delighted to partner with a market leader like Lucas TVS with a 60+ year track record of performance as a leading provider of electromagnetic solutions to the mobility market,” commented Naoki Ota, Chief Executive Officer of 24M.  “Our innovative SemiSolidTM technology and ongoing R&D investments will support Lucas TVS’s ambition to become a leader in the energy storage space for mobility, lead acid battery replacement, storage and grid scale markets in India.”

About Lucas TVS Ltd.

Lucas TVS Ltd., is an Indian manufacturing leader in mechatronic components for automotive, EV, industrial and consumer industries. Lucas-TVS Group with a turnover of over Rs. 3,500 crore is the market leader in this field for over 6 decades supplying its products to all segments of auto industry. Its products include starter motors, alternators, automotive motors, EV traction motors, BLDC motors for consumer and industrial applications as well as various controllers and sensors. Lucas-TVS has been in the forefront of introduction of high technology products to meet the demanding needs of the fast-growing auto industry in India. The group has already forayed into manufacture of several components of the fast-emerging electric mobility industry. For more information visit www.lucas-tvs.com.

About 24M Technologies Inc.

24M answers the world’s need for affordable energy storage by enabling a new, more cost-effective solution — SemiSolid™ lithium-ion technology. By re-inventing the design of the battery cell as well as the manufacturing method, 24M solves the critical, decades-old challenge associated with the world’s preferred energy storage chemistry: reducing its high cost while improving its safety, reliability and performance. Founded and led by some of the battery industry’s foremost inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs, 24M is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

Open Your Snapchat’ To Express, Connect And Play With Your Real Friends

* Snapchat’s new campaign urges Indian users to explore the world of AR

Snap Inc. has launched the India leg of its largest global marketing campaign titled  ‘Open Your Snapchat’ today. The campaign is aimed at showcasing the power of Snap’s camera as it opens doors to endless possibilities and activities including connecting with culture, e-commerce and meaningfully engaging with friends and family.

This multi-pronged marketing campaign was launched globally on July 30th across the U.S, UK, and Mexico. The localized India launch of the campaign in Hindi,  Hinglish and English is a part of creating experiences that are socially relevant and culturally contextual with a hint of local humor. The integrated brand campaign launches across digital platforms and will include Snapcodes revealing dozens of AR Lenses and custom creatives.

‘Open Your Snapchat’ features a range of popular Indian phrases & daily lingo which translate into quirky, immersive lens experiences for Snapchatters. Users can now display their cool quotient with Snap’s  ‘Daadi Cool’ lens or even build up their glam avatars with the ‘Desi Munde’ lens or take a trip down nostalgia lane with the ‘Beta, Aunty Ko Dance Karke Dikhao’ lens. This and many more fun lenses will be available for the Snapchat community in India to explore, engage and entertain. 

Speaking about the campaign launch, Kenny Mitchell, Chief Marketing Officer at Snap Inc. said, “Snapchat is a platform that is deeply personal because it often serves as a way to connect people with their real friends to share fun or memorable moments. Most importantly, they are doing so in their environment, sharing experiences that are focused on them and their surroundings. ‘Open Your Snapchat’ is an invitation to fully dive into the world of creativity and AR as we ask current and future members of the Snapchat Generation to open their Snapchat to unlock a world of possibilities and expressions through the camera.”

‘Open Your Snapchat’ invites users to have immersive experiences that they can share with friends and family. Through storytelling, design, activations, experiences, and more, the campaign demonstrates how opening your Snapchat is a simple gesture you can do dozens of times a day to add all sorts of wonder, joy, magic, and convenience to your life in totally new ways. More than 200 million Snapchatters engage with AR on an average daily and the brand has leveraged this technology to bring the campaign to life by showcasing the fun and engaging experiences Snapchatters have across the world.

In India, Snap has seen users engage with AR to celebrate cultural moments and festivals like Diwali, Holi, Pongal, Onam, Baishakhi amongst others and learn local languages through unique language lenses amongst many other local initiatives. Leveraging the power of technology, the brand continues to transform how Indians are communicating with each other visually and aims to bring more experiences that will resonate with Indian Snapchatters.

About Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. is a camera company. We believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. 

Tata Motors Inaugurates 70 New Sales Outlets In Emerging Markets Across Southern India In A Single Day

* One of the largest expansion drives conducted by the company so far

Corresponding to its retail acceleration strategy, Tata Motors, India’s leading automobile company, today inaugurated 70 new sales outlets across Southern India in a single day. Spread across 53 cities, these outlets have been strategically mapped to key emerging markets of the Southern region. These modern showrooms will be home to the company’s ‘New Forever’ range of passenger vehicles, including its electric vehicles portfolio.

With the addition of these new showrooms in a rapidly growing market, Tata Motors’ network in Southern India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh & Kerala) will be 272 and the retail footprint in India will grow to 980.  32 new dealership chains have opened in Bangalore (7), Chennai (5), Hyderabad (4), and in Kochi (4). Further, this widespread expansion also includes the launch of 38 outlets in upcountry markets of the South India. 

Inaugurating the new dealerships, Mr. Rajan Amba, Vice-President, Sales, Marketing & Customer Care, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors stated, “The Southern India contributes to 28% of the total Industry volumes and hence it is very critical for us to be strategically present in the emerging markets. With a 12.1% market share in Southern India, we are committed to our customers and want to make our New Forever range of passenger cars easily accessible. The trailblazing launch of these 70 new sales outlets, marks an important milestone in our aggressive retail expansion plans in India. This expansion will help us cater to our consumers’ requirements and tastes that are constantly evolving, with both online and offline solutions, to provide a seamless ‘phygital’ experience that is more convenient and relevant today.”

Tata Motors is making huge strides in the passenger vehicle market on the back of its New Forever range. The company recorded its highest ever passenger vehicle sales in 9 years, in March ‘21 and Q4 FY21. In FY21, the company’s PV business registered its highest-ever annual sales in 8 years, while posting a growth of 69%, compared to FY20. 

IAMAI-BACC To Organise Crypto Asset Event HODL With Focus On Consumer Safety On Sept 7-8, 2021

In order to create a consumer safe environment for 15 million crypto users in India, the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), an industry body whose members are crypto exchanges operating in India and are signatories of a self-regulatory code of conduct that ensures they comply with basic KYC and other regulatory guidelines, is organising the first edition of HODL’2021 -- a crypto asset conference, on 7th & 8th September 2021.

Shri Jayant Sinha, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Chairman Standing Committee on Finance, will address the conference and speak on ‘Innovation & Governance’. In addition, other keynote speakers are Dr Amar Patnaik, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha; Mai Santamaria, Head of Financial Advisory team at Department of Finance, Ireland; Dr Gulshan Rai, India’s First Cyber Security Coordinator and Advisory Board Member, IAMAI-BACC, among others.

The event will see extensive discussions around global experiences of crypto, opportunities and challenges that crypto brings to India, crypto as an investment class, crypto consumer security, economic impact of crypto in India. Building the right infrastructure to secure crypto assets; Pacing the adoption of blockchain by businesses; Security crypto assets; DeFi trends & outlook; NFTs – a bubble or a long-term bet, are some other interesting topics of discussion at the event.

The two-day event will see over 2000 attendees, including participants from about 20 countries. HODL ‘21 will be a platform where policymakers, ex-regulators, industry experts, investors, developers, enterprise leaders, financial institutions, researchers, academics and emerging tech pioneers, startups will be sharing their insights to build a thriving crypto ecosystem in India.

The conference will also see the launch of a report around crypto ecosystem in India that examines global models of crypto regulations and proposes an outline of the same in the Indian context.

The event will witness over 30 sessions. Other speakers at the event are Priyanka Chaturvedi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha; Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO, Zebpay; Rahul Pagidipati, CEO, Zebpay; Sumit Gupta, Founder, CoinDCX; Ashish Singhal, Founder & CEO, CoinSwitch; Sharan Nair, CBO, CoinSwitch; Nishchal Shetty, CEO, WazirX; Gaurav Dahake, CEO, Bitbns; Vikram Subburaj, Founder, Glottus; Sandeep Parekh, Former ED, SEBI; Vincent Lau, Managing Director of International Operations, Huobi Global; Anirudh Rastogi, Founder, Ikigai Law; Gabriella Kusz, Board Director, Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association, among others.

About BACC

The Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), under the aegis of Fintech Convergence Council of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), represents the crypto industry in India. BACC has been supporting the crypto industry since 2017. It was formed with the vision of doing public advocacy for the industry, to increase awareness about crypto and provide industry guidance. All major crypto exchanges are members of this industry body.

About IAMAI

The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] is a young and vibrant association with ambitions of representing the entire gamut of digital businesses in India. It was established in 2004 by the leading online publishers, and in the last 16 years has come to effectively address the challenges facing the digital and online industry including mobile content and services, online publishing, mobile advertising, online advertising, digital entertainment, ecommerce and mobile & digital payments among others. Sixteen years after its establishment, the association is still the only professional industry body representing the online industry in India. The association is registered under the Societies Act and is a recognized charity in Maharashtra. With a membership of nearly 300 Indian and overseas companies, and with offices in Delhi and Mumbai the association is well placed to work towards charting a growth path for the digital industry in India.

Continuing The Unity Run Collaboration, Milind Soman Visits Fujifilm India’s NURA Facility In Bengaluru

* Spreads awareness around early detection and health screening

* At the NURA center, Milind Soman got a full non-invasive screening with Fujifilm’s technologically innovative devices and shared his experience

Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd, the visionary leader in global healthcare and diagnosis technology, has announced their collaboration with actor, model and fitness-fiend, Mr. Milind Soman. As part of the Unity Run association, Mr. Soman visited the NURA AI- Health Screening facility in Bengaluru on 3rd September to spread awareness around the importance of early detection of cancer and also got a full non-invasive screening with Fujifilm’s technologically innovative devices.

NURA is a collaboration between Fujifilm Healthcare & Dr. Kutty’s HealthCare, that combines the best of AI enabled imaging and expert healthcare. During his visit, Milind Soman highlighted the importance of regular screening and check-ups for people of all ages, to detect the early onset of cancer and other preventable ailments. To signify Fujifilm’s resolute commitment in dealing with cancer issues and complications, he also entail a short-run to create awareness among women in the city. As part of the screening, he will undertook a quick 120 minutes- program to access his personal health. The AI-assisted devices at the facility have been designed to deliver intelligent scanning and diagnosis at ultra-low doses of radiation, making it a safe environment for regular screening. Along with cancer screening programs, the facility also addresses concerns regarding various lifestyle problems, and helps in minimizing potentially life-threatening diseases.

Fujifilm India and Milind Soman have a firm commitment to make the world a healthier and fit place. To take this commitment further, Fujifilm India even collaborated and supported the Ironman Marathon runner during his “The Unity Run” from Mumbai to Statue of Unity, Gujarat as the healthcare-imaging partner on the 75th Independence Day.  The visit to NURA facility, is an extension of the Unity Run.

Commenting on this association, Mr. Koji Wada, Managing Director, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd said, “With the increasing rate of cancer in the nation, it is pertinent to spread awareness regarding early screening and detection of various types of cancers. We are glad to be associated with Mr. Milind Soman for the herculean task of voicing out the importance of early screening and regular diagnosis for preventable disease as we spread awareness of the health hazards associated with the deadly disease. Fujifilm has always remained at the core of providing technologically advanced healthcare solutions and with this association; we take a step ahead in our commitment to make India fit and healthier.”

Reaffirming his commitment towards a fit future, the Ironman Marathon runner Mr. Milind Soman said, “A healthy body is the best defense one has against numerous diseases in the world. It is our responsibility to keep our health in check and opt for early detection and screening. I am amazed by the work Fujifilm India and NURA have been doing in this field of early diagnosis, helping scores of people in their fight against cancer. It’s my great pleasure to be associated with a leading imaging brand and support them in this cause by doing my bit in spreading awareness around the importance of early detection of cancer. Cancer is a demon that needs to be quashed, and it fills me with pride that I am associated with a cause that aims to overcome it”

Dr. Tausif Thangalvadi, Medical Director & General Manager, NURA said, "As a community, we have a culture of reactive medicine. We wait for diseases to strike before we can fight back. At NURA, we give you the opportunity to all-round diagnosis so that disease is prevented. With precision accuracy and enhanced safety using artificial intelligence (Ai), NURA is committed to enhance the diagnosis system. Cancer, Heart disease, Visceral Fat level, Bone density can all now be detected before they become dangerous and difficult to treat. We encourage everyone to try NURA and shift to a culture of preventive medicine. And like Mr. Milind Soman, we encourage you to become a part of the NURA family and be the changemakers for health."

Cancer is a growing epidemic in Indian women. According to a recent report published by National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP), estimates that the number of cancer cases is likely to increase from 13.9 lakh in 2020 to 15.7 lakh by 2025, an increase of nearly 20%. However, the one good thing is that at least one-third of common cancers are preventable. With initiatives like these and world-class screening facilities like NURA, Fujifilm has stood firm on its commitment towards the fight against breast cancer.

Bikayi Gets $10.8 M In Series-A Funding Led By Sequoia Capital India

* Mobile e-commerce start-up’s merchant base grew 5X over the last eight months

* Plans to accelerate product development, market penetration, and talent acquisition

Bikayi, one of the fastest-growing mobile-commerce enablers, has raised $10.8 million in Series-A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. Earlier in August 2020, the company had raised $2 million as a part of its seed round of funding led by Y Combinator.

Founded in 2019 by IIITians Sonakshi Nathani and Ashutosh Singla, Bikayi enables Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) to scale up on digital platforms thereby enabling them to reach out to a wider audience base. The platform provides businesses with a digital storefront, professional features, and tools to help them grow. Some of the features include a Dedicated Business Coach, Catalogue Listing, Shipping Facility, Payments, and also Insights on Customer Behaviour to manage their e-commerce stores through a single platform.

With its merchant base growing at 5x over the last eight months, Bikayi's annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) has grown 1800% alongside. The company currently has more than 4 million+ registered users on the platform. Bikayi is helping them sell their products across India and stand tall in the constantly evolving online commerce industry. With the aim to scale up product offerings, the company plans to use this capital to accelerate product development, acquisition, and talent hiring.

Commenting on the fundraise, Sonakshi Nathani, Co-founder & CEO, Bikayi, said, “Our vision is to empower every small business to win in the emerging online market by providing them with affordable tools, helping them achieve unimaginable goals. We are on a mission to fulfil the aspirations of millions of small businesses that drive our economy. There are merchants who have made more than a million dollars via Bikayi e-stores in the span of a year. Such stories keep us obsessed to do better for our customers every single day.”

Shraeyansh Thakur, Vice President, Sequoia Capital India, said, “India is on the cusp of an e-commerce revolution and we believe small and medium businesses will play a pivotal role in shaping this landscape over the next decade. India is home to over 75 million SMBs, which account for over 30% of India’s GDP, employ over 130 million, and form the backbone of the economy. Rapid digitization of SMBs and the deepening of the e-commerce ecosystem are huge trends in India and Bikayi is building a next-gen product that sits at the confluence of both these trends, integrating the entire infrastructure of commerce onto one single platform. The team is excited to partner with Sonakshi, Ashutosh, and the Bikayi team in their mission to empower millions of SMBs to engage their customers online.”

About Bikayi:

Bikayi is one of the fastest-growing mobile mobile-commerce enablers offering India’s aspiring SMBs a digital platform to reach a wider scale of audience. Founded in 2019 by IIITians Sonakshi Nathani and Ashutosh Singla, the Whatsapp-integrated platform provides businesses with a digital storefront, professional features, and tools to help them grow. Some of the features include a Dedicated Business Coach, Catalogue Listing, Shipping Facility, Payments, and also insights on customer behaviour to manage their e-commerce stores through a single platform.

Website: https://app.bikayi.com/

Bengaluru Plays Host To Post-Covid Health Wellness Program

●     The initiative was taken by Health-tech and wellness brand RESET and renowned S-VYASA Yoga University

●     The program focused on methods to strengthen immunity and ways to deal with post-covid symptoms through Yoga and a healthy lifestyle.

An initiative called “RE-SET Yourself” was conducted in Bengaluru on 3rd September aimed at a holistic approach towards healthy lifestyle, building up immunity and more. The program also put specific emphasis on addressing issues relating to post-covid symptoms and ways to deal with them. Conducted at RESET’s fitness facility which is one of the finest fitness centres in the country, the event saw participation from Prof. B R Ramakrishna, Dr Manjunath N K and DR. Saoji Apar Avinash from the S-VYASA University, who shared their valuable insights on the importance of Yoga in overall wellbeing.

During the event, a preventive module offered by the university was also presented, the focus of which is on optimising immunity and enhancing functioning of the respiratory system. The key elements of the program consist of asanas, pranayama and relaxation. Even the severe cases of covid can practice Makarasana (lying flat on the tummy) and undergo guided deep relaxation technique. This helps in reducing anxiety, breathlessness and enhancing oxygen saturation. The experiential showcased the same.

Says Prof. B R Ramakrishna, Vice Chancellor, S-VYASA & Dr Manjunath- Pro-Vice- Chancellor & the Director of Research at S-VYASA University, “The pandemic posed by Covid is yet not over. We must not let our guards down and focus more on a healthy lifestyle to strengthen our immunity. Even after people are discharged after testing Covid negative, there are lingering symptoms due to cytokine storms during the disease. Yogasana, pranayama and relaxation techniques help in regaining normalcy quickly. Our module is especially targeted towards building immunity and post Covid recovery and is readily available for everyone to use.”

Said Karan Talreja, Co Founder Reset, “The pandemic has highlighted the need for taking care of our health and strengthening our immunity. Like the rest of the world, the pandemic brought the fast paced city of Bengaluru to a halt, including our centres in the city. However, now that our facility has reopened, we invited everyone, including our members who have recovered from Covid, to this session to provide them guidance on how to increase their immunity and lead a healthy lifestyle. The objective with this was to help everyone be prepared for the projected third wave and lead an overall healthy life, hence this was completely free of cost.”

These classes offer a scientific approach and are designed specifically to help in the post Covid recovery process as well as to build resistance against the expected third wave of the pandemic. The master class opportunity will be open to all following the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6euXtIv87eo

Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) has been on forefront in helping people through Yoga practice, Ayurveda and Naturopathy based lifestyle. Specific, evidence -based yoga practices were evolved to help prevent Covid infection and also for people who are recovering from the Covid infection.

About S-VYASA

Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana or S-VYASA is a Deemed to be University established in 2002 working for making Yoga as a socially relevant Science. Based on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda the four streams of Yoga with unity in their diversity, the key essence of Indian culture, applications of Yoga to bring health, harmony, peace the world over are now spread across the globe in nearly 30 countries. The mission of S-VYASA is to combine the best of the East (Yoga and Spiritual lore) with that of the West (modern scientific research).

About RESET

A premium health-tech & wellness company based out of Mumbai, RESET specializes in holistic healing and Fitness. It provides solutions for the body and mind to cope with the exhausting modern-day lifestyle. The company offers tailor-made wellness plans which help ensure that the lost balance in life is restored. It is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Karan Talreja & Luke Coutinho who is a globally renowned Holistic Lifestyle Coach in the field of Integrative lifestyle Medicine. Luke’s approach towards prevention and healing revolves around four important pillars: Balanced Nutrition, Adequate Exercise, Quality Sleep and Emotional Detox.

ASUS Announces Comprehensive Creator And OLED Solutions With New Windows 11

* Latest innovations enhance workflows and boost productivity for all kinds of content creators

KEY POINTS

* Comprehensive ProArt ecosystem extended with ProArt Studiobook 16 and Pro 16, ProArt Station PD5, ProArt Display PA147CDV and OLED PA32DC, ProArt X570-Creator WiFi, and ProArt Projector A1.

* Extensive new creator laptop series — including the ProArt Studiobook series, Zenbook Pro series, and Vivobook Pro series — enhance workflows and elevate productivity for creative professionals and prosumers

* ASUS introduces stunning OLED displays (up to 16:10 4K) across the ProArt Studiobook, Zenbook, and Vivobook series, spanning high-end creator laptops to everyday laptops, as well as the new ZenScreen OLED MQ13AH.

* New ProArt Studiobook models and ProArt Mouse debut ASUS Dial for providing creators with instant, precise fingertip control over parameters in creative apps.

* ASUS is partnering with Adobe to offer complimentary 3- and 1-month subscriptions to Adobe Creative Cloud® on selected creator solutions.

ASUS today announced a major expansion of the brand’s ecosystem of solutions for empowering creators — including a more comprehensive array of new ProArt solutions, an expansive selection of Windows 11 laptops and PCs for creative professionals and prosumers, and a complete offering of laptops with OLED displays for all kinds of creators — at the Create the Uncreated launch event. Featuring new laptops, displays, peripherals, a desktop, a projector and a motherboard, the new lineup enables content creators of all types to thrive with optimal workflows and unique innovations.

“At our core, we are innovators who take pride in bringing our best ideas to life. So today’s lineup delivers incredible experiences for creators, by creators — to turn imagination into reality,” noted ASUS co-CEO Samson Hu.

"The all new ASUS Zenbook, Vivobook, and ProArt Studiobook series will inspire content creators with its power and performance,” said Nicole Dezen, Vice President, Device Partner Sales, Microsoft Corp. “Coupled with the ability to upgrade to Windows 11, users will experience new levels of productivity and creativity.”

In order to provide expansive possibilities for creators, ASUS continues to leverage strong partnerships. As a key partner of ASUS, NVIDIA® delivers the industry-leading NVIDIA RTX™ GPUs, as well as the best support for creators with NVIDIA Studio — including app accelerations, dedicated Studio drivers, and exclusive apps like NVIDIA Broadcast and Omniverse™. All the new laptop and PC models will ship with Windows 11, or be eligible for a free upgrade when the new OS is available.

Comprehensive ProArt solutions

With a mission to offer comprehensive professional solutions for creators, ASUS ProArt brings out the passion of users to unleash creativity and push the limits of artistic possibilities. Pro represents the bedrock of creativity that supports various forms of art, while Art refers to endless creativity. New ProArt solutions are built to remove barriers to creativity with incredible performance and design, and the burgeoning ecosystem caters to creators who are always on the move and those who prefer to work in their dedicated workspace. The new ProArt laptops have been NVIDIA Studio validated to ensure the best performance and uptime for even the most demanding creators.

With exceptional mobility, the ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED laptop, ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED laptop, ProArt Display PA147CDV, ProArt Mouse MD300, and ProArt Mouse Pad PS201 are designed for on-the-go workflows and lifestyles. When back in the studio, the ProArt Station PD5 desktop and the ProArt X570-Creator WiFi motherboard deliver incredible computing power to boost productivity; the ProArt Display OLED PA32DC as the world’s first OLED monitor with auto calibration ensures lifelike visuals; and ProArt Projector A1[i], as the world’s first Calman Verified projector, ensures images are cast in true-to-life color. To help creators thrive and boost productivity and efficiency, ASUS Dial has been introduced on the new ProArt Studiobook models and ProArt Mouse MD300 following its initial debut at CES 2021 on ProArt Display PA148CTV. ASUS Dial is an exclusive cross-product solution that gives creators an intuitive, precise and quick way to make adjustments in creative apps while staying focused on their artistic vision.

Expansive selection of laptops for creators

Aside from launching new ProArt solutions, ASUS is also introducing a number of new laptops for creators — Zenbook Pro, Vivobook Pro X and Vivobook Pro series laptops — providing a more complete offering to fulfill the needs of a wider range of creators and fit more usage scenarios. For highly mobile creators, Zenbook Pro Duo series laptops are masters of multitasking, while lifestyle creators can enjoy Vivobook Pro X laptops, the ultimate powerhouses for next-generation creativity, and Vivobook Pro for vivid visuals and high performance. These laptops for creators are enhanced by features specifically designed for creative work, such as the unique ASUS Dial feature and the exclusive ProArt Creator Hub software, and are also NVIDIA Studio validated products.

Partnership with Adobe

To bring out the best of ProArt and creator solutions, ASUS also celebrated a partnership with Adobe at the launch event by announcing three-month and one-month complimentary Adobe Creative Cloud® subscriptions[ii] bundled with a number of ASUS products. This subscription enables access to over 20 popular Adobe apps, including Photoshop®, InDesign®, and Premiere Rush®, as well as providing 100 GB of cloud storage, Adobe Fonts access, and other services. This collaboration has also ensured seamless integration of ASUS Dial with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic®, After Effects®, and Premiere Pro®, enabling creators to navigate these world-class apps more effectively and efficiently.

Complete offering of OLED solutions

ASUS is the first brand to offer a complete array of devices with OLED displays and provides a range that spans creative powerhouse laptops to mainstream on-the-go models, delivering the best displays to a wide variety of users and creators. The Vivobook Pro series is also the world's first lineup of OLED laptops with VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification[iii]. Featuring true-to-life colors, vivid imagery and low blue light, ASUS OLED devices enhance creative workflows with exceptional graphic precision and incredible visual experiences. New ASUS laptops and displays with OLED technology include the entire Studiobook series for creative professionals seeking perfect color; Vivobook Pro 14X/16X OLED and Pro 14/15 OLED for creator hobbyists and gamers; Zenbook 14X OLED and 14 Flip OLED for ultra-portability and flexibility; ExpertBook B5 OLED and B5 Flip OLED for business users looking for unprecedented levels of clarity when working with clients; and the portable ZenScreen OLED MQ13AH for giving on-the-go users an extra monitor.

With a comprehensive lineup of solutions that optimize creative work, ASUS is delivering incredible innovations that enable users to transform imagination into reality.

ASUS Global News: https://www.asus.com/news

Skechers India Introduces The Versatile Skechers GOrun Razor Excess

* The ultra-cushioned GOrun Razor Excess shoe delivers comfort that performs mile after mile with HYPER BURST™ cushioning and Goodyear® rubber technology

Skechers, The Comfort Technology Company™, today announced the launch of the all-new Skechers GOrun Razor Excess for men, which builds on the popularity of the award-winning GOrun Razor 3. The lightweight high-cushioned running shoe is the latest addition to Skechers’ performance GOrun line. Engineered to provide the best running experience, the range of trainers and race day shoes are crafted with the latest technologies to provide enhanced comfort, responsiveness and durability. With running continuously evolving and gaining massive popularity in India, Skechers India is combining high-performance technology with their trademark comfort for those looking to run the extra miles.

Designed for every kind of runner, Skechers GOrun Razor Excess delivers a swift and comfortable run with highly responsive, ultra-lightweight and long lasting HYPER BURST™ cushioning, as well as Goodyear® Rubber Technology for enhanced traction, stability and durability. The shoes come equipped with internal support at the toe and a Skechers HYPER ARC™ rocker bottom design that promotes efficiency in each stride. Thin stretchable laces expand and contract while running, providing an adaptive fit. Blending aesthetics with high-performance, the Razor Excess is sleekly designed with neon graphic prints and reflective detail for visibility during night-time runs.

Sharing insight into the launch of the collection, Mr. Rahul Vira, CEO, Skechers, South Asia Pvt. Ltd. said, “India has always been a huge market for avid runners. Skechers continues to believe in providing the most comfortable experience through our products, be it walking or running. With Skechers GOrun Razor Excess, we want to cater to consumers that are looking to run longer distances, without sacrificing speed or responsiveness. Our latest collection hits every note of technology needed for the best running experience.”

Skechers GOrun Razor Excess is now available for men at a price starting at INR 9,999/- on Skechers.in as well as at Skechers retail stores.

About Skechers South Asia Pvt. Ltd and Skechers USA, Inc.

Skechers South Asia Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of Skechers (NYSE:SKX), The Comfort Technology Company based in Southern California. Skechers designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories via department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through 4,057 Company and third-party-owned retail stores and e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, Israel and Mexico, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.in and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited Announces ₹ 1,000 Crore Public Issue Of Secured NCDs

·         Coupon Rate of up to 9.75% per annum*

·         Security cover of 1.25 times on the principal amount and interest thereon

·         Tranche I Issue rated as ‘CRISIL AA/Stable (double A: Stable) by CRISIL Ratings Limited and BWR AA+/Negative (double A plus/Negative) by Brickworks Ratings Pvt Ltd

·         Tranche I Issue opens on September 06, 2021 and closes on September 20, 2021**

·         Trading in dematerialized form only

·         Allotment on first -come- first-serve-basis

·         The NCDs are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, a housing finance company regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, has announced the public issue of secured/ and or unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures of the face value of Rs. 1,000 each. The Tranche I Issue opens on September 06, 2021 and closes on September 20, 2021.

The Tranche I Issue has a base issue size of Rs. 200 crores with a green shoe option up to Rs. 800 crores, aggregating up to Rs. 1,000 crores (“Tranche I Issue”). The Tranche I Issue offers various options for subscription with coupon rates ranging from 8.05% to 9.75% per annum. There are 10 Series of NCDs carrying fixed coupon and having tenures ranging 24 months, 36 months, 60 months and 87 months with annual, monthly and cumulative option.

The NCDs are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE (collectively, “Stock Exchanges”) with BSE as the Designated Stock Exchange for the Issue. The NCDs have been rated CRISIL AA/Stable by CRISIL Ratings Limited and BWR AA+ / Negative by Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited.

An additional incentive maximum of 0.25% p.a. will be offered for Category III (HNI) and Category IV (Retail) Investors in the proposed Issue, who are also holders of NCD(s)/ Bond(s) previously issued by the Company, and/ or its Subsidiaries as the case may be, and/or are equity shareholder(s) of Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited as the case may be on the deemed date of allotment.

The Lead Managers to the issue are Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, IIFL Securities Limited and Trust Investment Advisors Private Limited.

At least 75% of the funds raised through this Tranche I Issue will be used for the purpose of onward lending, financing, and for repayment of interest and principal of existing borrowings of the Company and the balance is proposed to be utilized for general corporate purposes, subject to such utilization not exceeding 25% of the amount raised in the Tranche I Issue. The unsecured NCDs are in the nature of subordinated debt and will be eligible for Tier II capital.

BAJA SAEINDIA 2021 Commences Its 15th Digital Edition

* 214 entries from 185 Engineering Colleges registered for Preliminary round of BAJA SAEINDIA 2022

SAEINDIA, a professional Society of Automotive Engineers, today announced the commencement of the 15th edition of the much-awaited BAJA SAEINDIA series (Digital Event).

214 entries across the Engineering colleges in India were received for BAJA SAEINDIA 2022, out of which 138 teams are registered for conventional m-BAJA & 76 teams are registered for e-BAJA event. BAJA SAEINDIA tasks the students to conceptualize design, build, test & validate a single-seater four-wheeled All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) to take part in a series of events, being conducted in three phases this year, giving the teams an opportunity to participate virtually in PHASE-1 & 2 or physically in PHASE-3 or both.

Upon successful completion of the previous edition, BAJA SAEINDIA 2021- "Embracing Challenges", BAJA SAEINDIA’2022 has begun in full swing. The pre-registration for the participating events started on June 16th, 2021. Considering the difficulties faced by the teams due to the current covid-19 outbreak, the registration deadline was extended from July 15th 2021 to August 15th, 2021.

Embracing the current Pandemic challenges, BAJA SAEINDIA 2022 edition will be held on a digital platform involving static as well as dynamic events, considering the health concerns of all stakeholders involved.

Intending to expand the spectrum of learning, the continuously evolving BAJA SAEINDIA Organising Committee has decided to introduce the participation of international teams all over the world till PHASE-2, for both mBAJA and eBAJA. Participating remotely will work hand in hand with the current safety rules to be followed with the idea of increasing the exposure of all the teams towards healthy completion and international bonding.

To promote clean energy-efficient solutions to the automotive future, the new eBAJA teams participating shall be provided financial support of INR 1 Lakh upon completing 5 laps in the endurance race which would be conducted in Phase 3 as per registration guidelines. This unique and eccentric step of BAJA SAEINDIA is towards a cleaner, efficient and brighter future and pushing to strive ahead and perform better than before, best than ever. To promote diversity amongst the teams, BAJA SAEINDIA has allowed the team who has reached the 25 members limit, to add 5 more girl team members without any additional amount in the registration fee to promote gender diversity.

The details for 1st and 2nd phase of BAJA SAEINDIA 2022 are as below:

The first leg (Phase 1) i.e. Preliminary Round, scheduled in September 2021, will be focusing on the virtual presentation of the ATVs of the teams. The two-day event will include a virtual Inauguration, presentations from teams showcasing the Design Reports of their buggy, an Automotive/Rulebook quiz and evaluation.

Followed by this, the second leg i.e. Phase 2, will incorporate Virtual Dynamic Events with the help of Automotive Simulation Software combined with Digital Static Events for 2022 edition, similar to BAJA SAEINDIA 2021. The tentative schedule of this phase is December 2021. This will include the Virtual Static Events Evaluation such as Design, Cost, Manufacturing & Sales Presentation as well as the Dynamic Events such as Acceleration, Brake, Gradeability, Suspension & Traction, Manoeuvrability and All Terrain Performance held virtually through IPG CarMaker software.

During Press conference, Mrs. Rashmi Urdhwareshe - President, SAEINDIA said

“BAJA SAEINDIA is inspired by the values & ethos and it provides an opportunity for thousands of engineering students to put the skills they have picked up into practice.  This competition furnishes an engineering student with a stage for their overall development. It enables them to grapple with a real-life application and improve their skills related to design, analysis, validation, problem solving, marketing, project management, team work, etc., which boosts their self-confidence and teaches them leadership skills. The competitive atmosphere at BAJA, always put learning at the front and nurtures the growth of an individual right before they enter the competitive environment of the industry.”

During Press conference, Dr. Madhu Chitkara – Pro-Chancellor, Chitkara University, Punjab said, “At Chitkara University, we believe in building a skilful society and promoting research, innovation in collaboration with industry and academic institutions. The vision of BAJA SAEINDIA and our university is in sync and we joined hands in the year 2015. As the host institute of Virtual BAJA SAEINDIA from the last 6 years, we feel proud in supporting this program. BAJA SAEINDIA is improving the engineering skills of young graduates through its project-based learning approach. For this year also, we are hosting the Preliminary and Virtual round of BAJA SAINDIA 2022 at our Punjab campus.”

During the event, SAEINDIA also signed MoU with Chitkara University, Cambridge Group of Institutions and IPG CarMaker to kick start the event.

About BAJA SAEINDIA

BAJA SAEINDIA is an educational pursuit for engineering college students, an out-of-classroom-education system, where engineering students can participate as a team, giving them pragmatic exposure to real-world challenges as faced in the industry. Originally started in the USA by the SAE International as Mini BAJA SAE, today it is being organized in several countries. In India, it is being organized as BAJA SAEINDIA. A student level competition in which teams from universities all over the country, conceptualize, design, analyze, fabricate, validate and run an all-terrain vehicle. This is evaluated during a series of Static, Dynamic, and Endurance events.

Over the years, BAJA has grown in numbers and has become a bigger event nationally, signifying its increasing popularity. It serves as a platform for young engineering talent to showcase their skills and acquire real-life experience while overcoming obstacles and challenges- something that is critical for their long-term success.

BAJA SAEINDIA is being Led by Dr. Pawan Goenka as the Chairperson of BAJA SAEINDIA Steering Committee. We thank our sponsors ALTAIR, Anand Automotive, ANSYS, ARAI, ATS, AVL, BPCL, Briggs and Stratton, Chitkara University, Cambridge Group of Institutions, Cummins, Hero Moto Corp, Hexagon-MSC Corporation, IPG CarMaker, Mahindra, MathWorks, Michelin, NATRiP, Power Equipment, Varroc, Vitesco Technologies for their continued passion and support towards building future-ready engineers through BAJA SAEINDIA. It is also supported by SIAM, ACMA, ASDC, FISITA & AICTE.

About eBAJA

eBAJA is an event initiated by the Steering Committee & Organizing Committee of BAJA SAEINDIA, which engages around 1400 engineering students every year. To leverage the onset of electric mobility in India, BAJA SAEINDIA had started this event under the convenorship of Mr. Subodh Morye (Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.) in 2015. This is a platform where engineering students get an opportunity to build an electric vehicle on the same dynamics of BAJA rulebook and experience the wonder of the electric vehicle. During a session of the Organizing committee and Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, where he suggested utilizing this platform for national prosperity. Overwhelmed by his thoughts, the organizing committee decided to include a new sub-event to its 8th season – named eBAJA. The conventional BAJA is all about petrol-driven ATVs, while the eBAJA vehicles run on an electric motor powered by a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack. To give eBAJA another push and special focus, the Organizing Committee of BAJA SAEINDIA decided to conduct the eBAJA event at a separate location. Cambridge Group of Institutions from Bangalore has come forward and agreed to be Host for eBAJA SAEINDIA 2022 at Bangalore.

All Indians Matter Podcast Achieves Milestone, Completes 100 Episodes

* Since its launch a year ago, the show has built a dedicated, growing audience in India and across the world

* Episode 100 is a special conversation on issues that are top-of-mind for most Indians

The All Indians Matter podcast, hosted by veteran journalist Ashraf Engineer and managed by IdeaBrew Studios, will publish its 100th episode on September 4, 2021. The podcast, launched on Independence Day Eve last year, publishes two episodes a week – a conversation with an expert on an issue on Wednesdays and solo commentary by Engineer on Saturdays.

The podcast is a digital home for conversations with and about India on issues that truly matter. It is available on all major platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Jio Saavn, Gaana, Wynk, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Amazon Prime Music India and many others.

The 100th episode is a special one. As the country goes through profound political and social changes, what are common Indians thinking? What do they want from the next decade and what keeps them up at night? Episode 100 is a conversation around these questions with people that common Indians can identify with – senior journalist Aarefa Johari, development sector professional and education equity worker Malvika Agarwal, and financial markets veteran Himanshu Vyas.

The conversation covers a wide range of topics that dominate the minds of common Indians: the worrying employment situation, social fissures, hyper nationalism, the economy, how India will negotiate a post-COVID world, to name a few.

Over the past year, the podcast has covered a variety of issues, from climate change to content laws and from the new farm laws to the worrying incidents of police torture. It has had a range of guests, from world renowned economist Jean Dreze to poet-lyricist Hussain Haidry and from social activist Harsh Mander to acid attack victim Daulat Khan.

There was also a special six-part series on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination: the conspiracy, the people behind it, the political impact and why the Father of the Nation is relevant today. It comprised a series of conversations with Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, Gandhi scholar, author and peace activist.

The podcast has built a solid reputation and audience not just across India but also globally, with people listening in from countries as distant and varied as the US, the UK, the UAE, Russia, France, Brazil and even Burkina Faso.

“In today’s times, audiences need a sane, clear voice that explains how national issues affect their lives every day. For instance, if the GDP-to-government debt ratio is high, how does it affect the common man’s budget? Or, if new farm laws are passed, what does it mean for prices of essentials and food security? People need clarity, someone to make sense of events for them. Unburdened by the organisational priorities of large media houses, independent media is uniquely placed to do this. The success of the All Indians Matter podcast is testimony to this,” said Engineer.

Aditya Kuber, co-founder of IdeaBrew Studios, which manages 86 shows now, said: “All Indians Matter was the first of our podcasts to go live. We believe strongly in the concept. It now has a dedicated and growing audience, which only underscores how much the demand for high-quality news-related content is expanding. It is attracting significant advertiser interest too. It’s a matter of pride that the podcast is 100 episodes old and we look forward to the next 100.”

Tableau Launches New Innovations And Enterprise Plans To Strengthen Organization-Wide Analytics

* End-to-end solution makes it simpler to buy, scale, govern and deploy self-service analytics 

Tableau, the world’s leading analytics platform (NYSE: CRM), unveiled new data and analytics platform capabilities today. The new enterprise capabilities and new enterprise subscription plans will help customers advance their digital transformations by empowering everyone in an organization with trusted and governed data, driving greater success with data and analytics at scale and better business outcomes.

“Tableau’s been at the forefront of our journey to better understand and serve our customers through data,” said Megan Oertel, Director of Product Analytics, Sysco LABS. “Tableau is used across our entire organization to help us report from all the different data sources we have in a governed and trusted way.”

According to McKinsey, 92 percent of companies are failing to scale analytics. And new data from Mulesoft and Coleman Parkes Research found that 87 percent of IT and business leaders are concerned that security and governance are slowing the pace of innovation. 

“IT leaders are facing unprecedented challenges today and the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to increase data self-sufficiency and empower everyone to do more with data,” said Doug Henschen, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. “It’s no longer a luxury for businesses to have a data analytics platform, it’s a necessity that could make the difference between surviving and thriving.”

Key new capabilities and improvements are focused on:

Managing the data chaos and enabling data governance at scale. New capabilities are making data challenges easier to manage, easier to scale, and easier to trust

Data Prep: Tableau Prep now makes it easier for customers to reduce loads/costs of server resources automatically and generate rows to more easily map out trends in data 

Governance: New features help ensure/maintain data quality by alerting you of any potential issues and provide easier visibility into the type of data you have and where it came from 

Centralized row level security: New features allow for increased flexibility and segmentation by allowing Tableau administrators to centrally configure which users and groups have access to which slices of data configure access. 

Ensuring analytics scales with enterprise demand 

Enterprise reference architecture: Enterprise Deployment Guidelines (EDG) provides the Tableau reference architecture for our enterprise customers with a prescriptive methodology to achieve requirements around availability, scalability and security. EDG is technology agnostic, platform independent and aligned with enterprise data center best practices.

Dynamic Scaling: New feature helps enterprises appropriately resource their deployment and ensures enough containers are available during peak demand times and scale down during low demand times.

o   Resource Management: IT teams can better optimize the performance of Tableau Server by defining application resource limits.

New enterprise subscription plans make it even easier to procure and deploy Tableau across an entire organization. By bundling analytics with Data Management and Server Management, enterprise customers can more easily procure and deploy Tableau’s full capabilities to benefit everyone.

“Tableau has long been a favorite to help individuals see and understand data,” said Francois Ajenstat, Chief Product Officer, Tableau. “We’re making it easier for IT leaders to make it a favorite across the entire enterprise and deliver an end-to-end solution to leverage the full power of data analytics.”

The data prep and catalog improvements along with the new subscription plans will be available later this month with the release of Tableau 2021.3. The additional features will be available in the coming months. To learn more, visit: www.tableau.com/products/our-platform.

Sugar.fit Is Slated To Raise $10 Mn In Seed Funding Led By Cure.fit, Endiya Partners And Tanglin Venture Partners

* Sugar.fit offers a holistic data-driven approach that will help customers prevent, manage and reverse diabetes in 6-12 months’ time

* Sugar.fit was in stealth mode for the last 9 months; they have recently concluded a pilot and have now launched in Bangalore and Delhi-NCR

cure.fit, India’s leading health and fitness company, along with Endiya Partners and Tanglin Venture Partners have agreed to invest $10 million in Sugar.fit – a healthtech startup that seeks to manage and reverse diabetes through a highly consumer-centric data-driven digital health experience. The investment is expected to close by September.

About 70 million people in India suffer from diabetes and another 80 million are pre-diabetic. Diabetes is the leading cause of several fatal health complications which requires people to continuously monitor and regulate their sugar levels.

The startup uses continuous glucose monitoring technology (CGM), which helps users see real-time impact of various food and lifestyle activities on their blood sugar level. Sugar.fit’s comprehensive program further combines medical experts with deep technology, including coaching, personalised analytics, and integrated devices and testing.

Cure.fit will actively support the Sugar.fit team with their fitness and wellness content, and access to their millions of health-conscious consumer base in the country. Cure.fit's digital capabilities in pre-emptive health, scale of Cult.fit, and network of doctors and coaches are strong assets for sugar.fit.

Sugar.fit launched two months ago and is currently operational in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. The company has seen strong traction and is on track to hit $1mm ARR this quarter. Sugar.fit plans to expand to 10 cities over the next few months.

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Ramesh Byrapaneni, Partner, Endiya Partners said: “There is increasing evidence that with proper medical and lifestyle interventions, diabetes can be prevented, managed better and even reversed. However, current systems of care management are often generic and lack personalisation. Sugar.fit’s goal to sustainably manage and reverse diabetes for millions of Indians in the next few years is a worthy goal which we at Endiya are thrilled to partner in.”

Madan Somasundaram, Co-founder of Sugar.fit said: “We have an innovative tech-led solution that gives real-time tracking and hands-on personalised assistance to our customers. 90% of our users are seeing significant drop in their blood sugar levels along with drastic reduction in medication and weight and are on track for diabetes reversal. Our customers have rated the product 3.9 on a scale of 4 and we are seeing referrals from word-of-mouth every day. I am confident that Sugar.fit can sustainably manage and reverse diabetes for millions of Indians in the next few years.”

Sugar.fit’s founding team includes Madan Somasundaram and Shivtosh Kumar and the core founding

team comes with vast experience in building and scaling products at cure.fit, Dailyhunt, Flipkart, Myntra, Samsung etc. Majority of the tech team is from Curefit and have avg experience of 5+ years. The team has previously built health products with NPS of 80+.

For more information on Sugar.fit, visit: https://www.sugarfit.com/

About cure.fit

cure.fit is a health and fitness company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, cure.fit caters to living a healthy life through its critical dimensions — physical fitness & wellness. The platform, branded as cult.fit, provides fitness-related services through a mix of online and offline channels. These include offline group workouts at cult.fit centres and other gym- or equipment-based workouts at partner gyms and fitness centres across the country. The platform also offers online personal training, group workouts, and live fitness classes across various formats.

cult.fit is an app-based service provider and is available on Android and iOS.

For more information, visit: www.cult.fit

About Endiya Partners

Endiya Partners is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in Indian product start-ups that are globally relevant. Leveraging deep domain expertise along with vast entrepreneurial and operating experience, the Endiya team plays a key role in co-creating scalable businesses. Endiya’s portfolio consists of disruptive and category-defining companies across SaaS, Fintech, Deeptech, and Healthcare sectors including companies like  Darwinbox, Kissht, Curefit, SigTuple and Qapita. Founded in 2015, Endiya Partners has $100M under management.

BPCL’s AI Enabled Chatbot URJA Enhances Digital Experience Of Customers

* Urja is the first AI-driven chatbot in the country’s Oil & Gas industry

* Integrated with company’s Website & WhatsApp Number

* Urja has already crossed over 1 Crores customer sessions with an overall rating of 4.5+/5

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company, announces the launch of ‘Urja’, an intelligent virtual assistant with AI/NLP (Natural Language Processing) capabilities and trained on more than 600 use cases. With the objective of making BPCL’s customer interface comprehensive & integrated digitally, Urja, the Chatbot is now available on the company website for any queries for both B2B & B2C. The virtual assistant is designed to deliver a seamless self-service experience and enable faster resolution of consumer queries / issues.

BPCL has initiated “Project Anubhav” with an objective of delivering to its vast retail (B2C) and commercial (B2B) customer base a consistent superior and unified experience of BPCL across multiple touchpoints. Under Project Anubhav, Urja represents an integrated communication platform that connects all BPCL communication to any channel, unifying all customer touch points with a single and cohesive voice. After a successful 6 month pilot on WhatsApp for enabling LPG bookings; Urja today speaks in 13 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese). Over 45% of the conversations with Urja are in the non-English languages ensuring inclusiveness for all types of customers of BPCL.

BPCL has domestic LPG customer base of 8.5 Crores plus customers across the country, served by more than 6000 distributors. With over 19000 petrol pumps spreads across the country, BPCL today serves approx. 30% of the fuelling requirement of the country. In addition, BPCL also services 12 lakh+ B2B customers for their fuel, lubricants and gas requirements across industries. URJA plays a vital role to answer & provide solutions for consumer’s queries & requirements with its Artificial Intelligence.

BPCLs core values include customer centricity, customer focus. Commenting on this initiative Mr. Arun Kumar Singh, Director Marketing, said “We at BPCL always work hard for welfare of our customers and towards growth of the nation innovatively and efficiently. Through our ‘Urja’ chatbot we aim at providing an entirely new experience for our consumers and creating an AI based virtual assistant for availing key services and to provide real time resolution of queries.”

Following are the services being offered through the Virtual Assistant:

·         LPG services:

o   Booking of LPG Cylinders

o   Know price of LPG cylinders & Payment for LPG Cylinders

o   Delivery status of booked LPG cylinder & refill history

o   Change the LPG Distributor

o   Update mobile number

o   Request services from BharatGas distributors like mechanic services

o   Request Double bottle connection (for single bottle connection customers)

o   Emergency & Complaints/Feedbacks

·         Fuel services

o   Locate nearest fuel station / pump and get directed to the pump

o   Get Petrol / Diesel Price

o   Get details of UFill Vouchers

o   Know about BPCL programme’s and offers including Smartdrive & Smartfleet Loyalty Programme, Fuel Kart Door Delivery etc.

o   Smartdrive Loyalty Programme : Check Petromiles and wallet balance, check transaction and recharge history

o   Request door delivery of fuel through BPCLs Fuel Kart Programme

·         Know about BPCLs products including industrial fuels, solvents, MAK Lubricants.

·         Customers can now show interest in BPCLs products and BPCLs field teams can connect with such customers. 

·         Feedback from Customers across services

·         FAQs across all businesses and services of BPCL

You can chat with her on WhatsApp: http://bit.ly/3to7i3j or on our website: http://bit.ly/2AO8K8l

New Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition Inspired By No Time To Die

* Unstoppable and exclusive: New Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition created by Land Rover SV Bespoke to celebrate Defender’s role in 25th James Bond film, No Time To Die

* Potent performance: Powerful new model is based on the recently launched 386 kW Defender V8 and is available in both 90 and 110 body designs

* Licence to drive: Design inspired by the Defenders which appear in No Time To Die and includes the Extended Black Pack with 50.80 cm (20) Satin Dark Grey wheels and Xenon Blue front brake calipers

* Bespoke touches: Unique ‘Defender 007’ rear badge, 007 puddle lamp, illuminated treadplates and exclusive touchscreen animation on the Pivi Pro infotainment

* Collector’s item: Each Defender V8 Bond Edition carries the SV Bespoke logo and an exclusive ‘One of 300’ etching

* Screen inspiration: No Time To Die is released in cinemas globally from September 30 2021

Land Rover SV Bespoke has created a new Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition to celebrate the 25th James Bond film, No Time To Die, ahead of its world premiere later this month.

Available to order as a Defender 110 or 90 and inspired by the specification of the Defenders that appear in No Time To Die, the stealthy Defender V8 Bond Edition features an Extended Black Pack with 50.80 cm (20) Satin Dark Grey wheels, signature Xenon Blue front brake calipers and a ‘Defender 007’ rear badge.

The bespoke touches extend to the practical interior, with illuminated ‘Defender 007’ treadplates and a specially developed touchscreen start-up animation for the intuitive Pivi Pro infotainment system that honours Land Rover’s long partnership with the James Bond franchise. At night, customers will also spot unique ‘007’ puddle lamp graphics.

Exclusively available to just 300 buyers around the world, the Defender V8 Bond Edition’s interior features laser etching detailing that it is ‘one of 300’ and the SV Bespoke logo. Each vehicle is commissioned by the vehicle personalisation experts at SV Bespoke in the UK.

Finbar McFall, Land Rover Brand Director, said: “The Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition is an exclusive take on the most powerful production Defender ever made, inspired by vehicles on screen in No Time To Die. It represents a meeting of two great British brands and is a unique celebration of Land Rover’s 38-year association with James Bond.”

Defenders are at the heart of the action in No Time To Die alongside two Range Rover Sport SVRs. A Range Rover Classic and Land Rover Series III are also in the film, which will be released in cinemas around the world from September 30 2021.

Based on the recently launched Defender V8, the Bond Edition is powered by a 5.0-litre supercharged petrol engine, which produces 386 kW, 625 Nm of torque and drives through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Defender V8 90 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.2 s with a top speed of 240 km/h.

It delivers new levels of performance and driver engagement by combining the V8 with expertly developed suspension and transmission tuning to create the fastest and most dynamically rewarding Defender yet.

With unique suspension and transmission tuning, including bespoke spring and damper rates and a new Electronic Active Rear Differential, Defender V8 delivers more agile and engaging handling with heightened body control – all accompanied by a characteristic V8 supercharged soundtrack.

No Time To Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fifth and final film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. The film will be released in cinemas from September 30 2021 in the UK through Universal Pictures International and in the US on October 8 2021, from Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) via their United Artists Releasing banner.

Department Of Philosophy – MAHE To Launch Master’s In Sanskrit Studies

The Department of Philosophy (DoP) of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) - an Institution of Eminence is all set to launch Master’s in Sanskrit Studies from this academic year onward. The launch of Master’s in Sanskrit Studies will be set off by the inaugural address ‘The Importance of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Liberal Arts in India’ highlighting the case for Sanskrit in current educational scenario delivered by Dr Bibek Debroy, Chair of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Govt of India, New Delhi. Prof Debroy is a Sanskrit scholar and an Economist. He has translated major literary classics from Sanskrit to English that run over 8000 pages, stated the release issued by the Department.

The address will be a part of the orientation day for its master’s students in European Studies, Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit Studies organised jointly by the Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence – Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES) and the Department of Philosophy (DoP) on Friday, 3 September 2021 at 3 pm with a special inaugural address via Zoom – https://bit.ly/orientation3sep2021. The event is open to all. Subsequently, the students will go through a rigorous one-week immersion program sessions (seminars and workshops) conducted by various professors from institutes like – IIT Bombay and Kharagpur, Manipal University Jaipur, Krea University and MAHE, Manipal before the actual classes begin.

As a constituent of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, the Department of Philosophy conducts teaching and research activities in the areas of Humanities and Social Sciences through academic programs, projects, publications, and events. In consonance with the National Education Policy (NEP), the Department aims at transcending the disciplinary boundaries and offers two multidisciplinary programs – MA Indian Philosophy and MA Sanskrit Studies and other courses in humanities. With a team of promising scholars who are the beneficiaries of prestigious Erasmus Plus and Raman Charpak research fellowships at European universities, the Department is collaborating with the University of Toronto, Canada on a project on Indian dialectics and argumentation funded by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI), New Delhi. It has also developed the first searchable Digital Concordance – MAHE Mahabharata with three critical editions (http://mahabharata.manipal.edu/). The Department has brought out several scholarly translations and publications and is conducting interdisciplinary research in the areas of philosophy, literature, digital humanities and computational linguistics, the release noted.

The MA Indian Philosophy program involves critical and interdisciplinary engagements with Indian discourses and introduces philosophising as a skill set which students can incorporate in their approach to other academic fields, as an acquired life skill, and as a professional competence necessary for diverse career pursuits. The program accommodates students from diverse academic backgrounds and offers ample exposure to variety of philosophical subjects such as ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and linguistics. 

The two-year MA Sanskrit Studies provides an opportunity to acquire proficiency in Sanskrit language and study its linguistic foundations, while also understanding Sanskrit as a broadly-deployed medium of intellectual, literary, artistic, and religious expression in India. It incorporates an attempt to trace and reconstruct the intellectual history of India and develop a familiarity with the ongoing debates and topics in the study of Sanskrit. The program aims at equipping students with the skills necessary for interpreting and analysing Sanskrit texts of various genres - epic, poetry, commentary, and exploring the intertextual links between discourses in pre-modern and modern Indian literatures. Both the programs offer a yearly exit option with a PG Diploma, concluded the note.

MaxiVision Eye Hospital Unveiled Free COVID-19 Vaccination Drive

* An initiative to extend support to the Government’s efforts in mass vaccination

Hyderabad Based MaxiVision eye hospital has launched Free COVID19 Vaccine drive today in its Somajiguda hospital. Sri.Anjani Kumar – Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad and Sri .Muralidharan FICCI Chairman have graced the occasion as chief guests. Dr.GSK Velu – Chairman, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals, Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy Garu – Co-Chairman, Founder & Mentor, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals have attended the program as guests of honour

This drive has been taken up by MaxiVision as part of its CSR initiative in the light of the pandemic, with a view to accelerate vaccinations for the needy. Vaccination Drive starting from today will continue until 5th of September, 2021. This initiative is engineered in partnership with FICCI and Neuberg Diagnostics, the drive will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the mentioned dates and will be administering Covaxin to the attendees.

Speaking on the occasion Dr.GSK Velu – Chairman, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals said, “MaxiVision, though it is a single-specialty hospital, has always had a heart for charity. When the pandemic swept the city, our doctors and paramedics braved themselves and treated patients who were in need of emergency services. This time we are planning to dispense 50% of our vaccine stocks free of cost to the poor and needy. Though Telangana Government is well ahead in mass vaccination drives, this small attempt is to supplement the Government’s efforts in this part of the city. We have created a separate block with all paramedical support in our hospital at Somajiguda. 1000 people can have free vaccines from 2nd till 5th. We will extend the numbers to 2000 if there is continuing demand.”

Elaborating more on the same Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy Garu – Co-Chairman, Founder & Mentor, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals,said  MaxiVision Eye Hospital has always been at the forefront of extending help to those in dire need, be it reaching out to Kerala with essential commodities during the floods or providing emergency medical services in the pandemic.This free vaccination drive is yet another attempt by MaxiVision in doing its bit in helping society in these uncertain times.

Despite many rounds of mass vaccination drives conducted by the Telangana government, many sections of the city remain unvaccinated. The hospital plans on distributing half of its vaccine supply in this free vaccination drive and is prepared to extend the drive if the demand continues.

Appointments for the vaccination drive can be made on calling: 9390035926.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Sri Anjani Kumar IPS addressing the media during the free COVID19 vaccine drive launch in MaxiVision Eye Hospital Today. Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy - CO-Chairman MaxiVision Eye Hospital, Sri. A.Murali Krishna Reddy - CO-Chairman FICCI is also seen in the picture.

69% Of people In Bengaluru Ignore Early Signs Of poor nerve heath: P&G Nerve Health Survey [1] ­

* The national survey also revealed that while over 90% of respondents believe that healthy nerves are important, only 38% know that nerves are different from blood vessels.

September commemorates the National Nutrition Month, a reminder for a greater focus on diet and nutrition, and the role it plays to help improve our overall health and wellbeing. While malnutrition can lead to many ailments, the deficiency of B vitamins may lead to nerve damage[2].

Results of the ‘P&G Nerve Health Survey’ conducted among 1800 respondents across 12 cities, showed that over 60% of the respondents ignore early signs of poor nerve health. However, in Bengaluru, the survey brought out that 69% of respondentsignore early signs of poor nerve health, higher than the national average. Conducted by HEAL Health and Hansa Research, and supported by Procter & Gamble Health Limited, the national survey also highlights that while over 90% of the respondents believe that healthy nerves are important, only 38% know that nerves are different from blood vessels.

“Usually, people don’t take a balanced diet and they miss out on lots of other essential vitamins and ingredients, which are essential for holistic health. We often see that people suffer from nerve health but are unaware of the reasons behind it. They don’t take care of the intake of Vitamin B12 in their dietary regimen, and their problem remains. Therefore, it is essential to know the impact of Vitamin B12 on our health. And equally important to ensure to take the required amount of Vitamin B12 in your diet,”says Dr Ganapathi Bantwal, President, Endocrine Society of India.

The P&G Nerve Health Survey was conducted towards gauging the awareness levels and perceptions about nerve health and to understand if people can identify nerve related discomforts. Results revealed limited knowledge amongst the masses about nerve health. While people had experienced symptoms related to nerve damage only 50% related it to nerve health[1].

“A large population of the country today suffers from Vitamin B deficiencies without knowing the causes and the risks associated with this condition including nerve damage.  The P&G Nerve Health Survey, in association with Heal Health & Hansa Research, is an effort to increase awareness about nerve health, empower people to recognize the early symptoms and how it can be managedwith a balanced diet and supplementation”, said Milind Thatte, Managing Director - Procter & Gamble Health Limited.

B12 deficiency is extremely common in India - amongst other deficiencies - owing to malnutrition being extremely common. The reasons for these are many and largely related to diet and lifestyle [2].

“Besides other factors, people with Vitamin-B deficiencies have a higher probability for nerve impairments. Special nutritional habits or malnutrition can lead to deficiencies in certain essential vitamins, like the neurotropic-B vitamins, which play a very important role in keeping your nerves healthy and protected. Like most vitamins, B12 can’t be made by the body. Instead, it must be gotten from food and supplements. Therein lies the problem as while some people don’t consume enough vitamin B12 to meet their needs, others can’t absorb enough, no matter how much they take in. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency is found to be relatively common, especially among older people”, says Dr Satish Khadilkar, Dean and HOD Neurology, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences.

The national survey results also revealed that 73% of respondents relied upon vegetables and 69% of respondents relied upon fruits for vitamin B12, which are not a source[1].

Indian Marketers Embrace Change And Prioritise The Customer: Salesforce Research

* The State of Marketing report finds that 90% of Indian marketers have changed their digital engagement strategy since the pandemic. 

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today released the seventh edition of its ‘State of Marketing’ report based on a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders worldwide. The report is focused on understanding the shifts in marketing strategies, priorities, challenges and the trajectory of marketing's digital transformation future with the recent economic and social changes. 

Key findings include: 

Marketers Embrace Change with Optimism: Emerging from a time of great upheaval, marketers are focused on a future of innovation and real-time engagement. Top three priorities for marketers in India are: Engaging with customers in real time; Creating a cohesive customer journey across channels and devices and Improving marketing ROI/attribution and improving collaboration. 68% of Indian marketers expect revenue growth at their organizations over the next 12 to 18 months.

As Customers Go Digital, Marketing Steps Up: After years’ worth of changes in customer behavior occurring over the course of months, marketers are accelerating their digital transformation. In India 91% marketers say their digital engagement strategy has completely changed or somewhat changed since the before pandemic. 

Collaboration Drives the Market-from-Anywhere Era: No longer tied to offices, a distributed workforce is reevaluating how they engage not only customers, but each other. 79% of marketing organizations in India have adopted new work collaboration technology due to the pandemic. 

Marketing Is Spelled D-A-T-A : Data empowers marketers to deliver the trusted, personalized engagement customers expect, but managing it is only becoming more complex. The average number of data sources used by marketers in India is expected to reach 32 by 2022. 

Budgets allocations continue to evolve: Majority of budgets in India go to advertising across B2C (25%) and B2B (20%) businesses. Events and sponsorships are deprioritized getting the least amount of budgets  across B2C (15%) B2B (13%) businesses. 

Challenges are afoot, though, with 73% of Indian marketers agreeing that customer expectations are more difficult to meet than they were a year ago. To adapt, marketers are leaning into the digital transformations they had initiated prior to the pandemic. In fact, 90% of Indian marketers say the pandemic changed their digital engagement strategy, and 88% say it changed their marketing channel mix.

Prioritizing things like technology, content, and skilling people for this digital first era will help marketers stay ahead. In India 61% of marketers rate employee training they receive as excellent, in comparison to the global average of 44%. 51% of these professionals choose to specialise in Data analytics and Content Marketing 

Comments on the news:

Yashdeep Vaishnav, RVP, Digital Experience, Salesforce India, said, “Over the course of a little more than a year, marketers in India have navigated changes in customer behavior that normally occur over years. The insights in this year’s State of Marketing report provide a good benchmark for what’s changed, what’s consistent, and where the art and science of marketing goes from here.”

The trends revealed in the State of Marketing report were collected from a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders across 37 countries and six continents, including 300 from India. 

Study Reveals How The Pandemic Has Negatively Affected Working Women Of India

·         14% of women have given up their full-time job

·         44% report an adverse change in their income

* 50% report increased workload

A study undertaken by Economix Consulting Group (ECG), a niche consulting and analytics firm, unveiled a research report on the impact of COVID-19 on urban working women in India.

ECG conducted a Pan-India survey among urban working women of various professions ranging from Private Sector, Academic Professionals, Entrepreneurs and, Medical professionals to understand what effect the pandemic has had on their lives. The survey was conducted across all major cities in India in the target group age of 20-60 years.

The study examined the changes brought about by the pandemic in various aspects like working status, workload (professional and personal), productivity, income, job losses, place of work, and domestic support systems.

Some of the key findings of the study:

More Women Are Working Part Time Now:

▪       Between the two waves, 14% of respondents have been forced to move from full time to part time employment.

▪       60% of respondents working part-time have experienced a decrease in income, compared to 37% of full-time employees. Part-time working women appear to be affected more by the pandemic’s effects perhaps due to their temporary status.

Work Hours Have Changed Drastically For Women:

▪       In terms of working hours and days, the number of women working part-time has increased as 31% of respondents report working less than 5 hours a day.

▪       10% more respondents now work less than 4 days a week. This may be attributed to declining business activity, lack of time due to household chores.

▪       Respondents working more than 10 hours a day, or having no fixed timings, rose from 4% to 14%. There is also a 3% increase in women working all 7 days of a week.

▪       Weekly schedules have been affected as those working 5-6 days per week declined from 82% to 68%.

▪       Disruptions in routine have made typical schedules uncommon, and respondents are having a conventional workday of 7-10 hours has shrunk from 57% to 35%.

Women Now Prefer Personal Transport Or No Travel:

▪       As expected from lockdowns and social distancing, 64% of respondents have started working from home after the pandemic, compared to 14% before.

▪       A surprising 36% continue to commute outside for work, commonly using two-wheelers and cars, and eschewing public transport altogether.

▪       Of those working women who travelled on work pre-COVID19, 78% report a complete stop.

Women Are Working Harder:

▪       Of the 57% of respondents who reported a change in workload after the pandemic, a significant 73% have experienced an increase. Common reasons appear to be more significant preparation due to the adoption of digital mediums, reduced staff at work, and increased working hours.

▪       Interestingly, the survey brought out some diverse views. 35% of respondents reported an increase in productivity. Common reasons cited for the increase in productivity: Absence of commuting time and extended work hours. On the other hand, 32% of respondents report a decrease in productivity. Common reasons cited for decline in productivity: Household chores and network issues.

Women Are Earning Lesser:

▪       44% of respondents report an adverse change in income levels after the pandemic. The impact is being felt by reduction in salary or perks, no pay, or reduction in business income.

▪       The effect of a decrease in income for women since COVID19 highlights reduced household income and an increase in “unpaid” work (domestic chores).

Women Are Working More At Home As Well:

▪       Despite a significant majority employing domestic help, almost 50% of the respondents indicate an increased workload, commonly citing unavailability of domestic support and additional responsibilities towards children’s online education.

▪       Interestingly, of those women working from office before the pandemic and have since been working from home, only 17% feel that continuing to work from home is better.

Women Now Have Lesser Time for Hobbies And More Stress:

▪       While 70% of respondents pursued hobbies such as fitness, art, reading, etc., before the pandemic, almost a third report being unable to continue these pursuits.

▪       52% report worsening mental health since COVID-19, with many anecdotes of challenging experiences at home.

▪       Working women were also questioned about their well-being relative to working men as well as stay-at-home women. 60% felt they had it more challenging than stay-at-home women, and 53% felt similarly to working men.

How does the regional comparisons look like?

Work From Home (WFH)

West:

West displayed the highest indifference between WFH and office @ 40% (their preference for working only from office is also @ 40%). However, understandably, they also reported the highest decrease in working from office during the pandemic as also the highest increase in WFH @ 68% and 62% respectively.

East-South:

In contrast, Pandemic or no pandemic, “work means office” for East & South - East and South India had the highest share of respondents working from office during the pandemic @32% and 26% respectively. These are also the respondents who showed the highest preference for working from office post-pandemic, @ 44% and 49% respectively.

North:

Whereas “Home” is the happening place for those in North with the largest share of respondents WFH, both before and after the pandemic @ 27% and 73% respectively. They also showed the highest preference for continuing to WFH post-pandemic @ 32%. Interestingly, 22% of respondents from North India felt that stay-at-home women have struggled more than working women since the pandemic, compared to 60% of women across the respondent pool believing the opposite is true.

Stress and Mental Health – Linked to loss of income?

Disturbingly, all regions reported increase in stress and deterioration of mental health. The largest share of respondents suffering from a decrease in income, and a worsening of mental health are from South India, at 41% and 60% respectively.

In comparison, these figures are 35% and 49% for North, 35% and 44% for West and 25% and 30% for East.

Speaking about the study, Latha Ramanathan, Founder & CEO, Economix Consulting Group (ECG) said, “There have been multiple reports across the world of women being disproportionately affected due to the pandemic, on employment, income and mental health. Our study of urban Indian women resonates that - working hours and work load seem to have increased considerably, and some women have even cited that they are working all 7 days of the week. Furthermore, the respondents have reported a decrease in income and increase in mental health issues, possibly due to increased stress levels.”