STEMI-India Creates Heart Attack Management System In Karnataka; Unveil ECG Monitoring & Data Reader Device

In India about 25 per cent of the deaths happen due to heart attack and this number is only increasing each year. After creating Heart Attack Management System in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, STEMI India, a not for profit organization plans to set up four zones in Karnataka to create heart attack management drive especially in the rural areas in this state. These are namely, Bangalore, Mysore, Gulbarga and Mangalore zones to begin and later add more in the coming years. Dr Manjunath, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology says, “After a successful management programme in TN and Telangana, the programme is called STEMI India Model and has been validated and is considered as the heart attack management programme ideal for all low and middle income countries like India. The meeting being held here will discuss and plan the launch of this programme in Karnataka.” Dr. Thomas Alexander, Director of STEMI INDIA, said that Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the commonest non-infectious disease prevalent in India. He explained that Indians have the highest mortality and morbidity rates from CAD as compared to any other ethnic group. Over the last three decades, the prevalence of CAD has increased by 300%; from 2% to 6% in rural India and from 4% to 12% in urban India. It is now projected that the number of Indians with CAD is above 60 million of which 23 million is below the age of 40 years and 10 million younger than 30 years. CAD is projected to claim 2.9 million lives annually, of which almost 1 million will be younger than 40 years of age, he added, quoting figures from the WHO (World Health Organization). Coronary heart disease is common non-infectious disease in India reporting the highest mortality and morbidity rates. Over the last three decades, CAD prevalence increased by 300 per cent from 2 percent to 6 percent in rural India and from 4 o 12 per cent in urban India. Its now estimated that number of Indian with CAD is 60 million of which 23 million is below the age of 40 years and 10 million younger than 30 years. WHO reports that CAD is projected to claim 29 million lives annually of which one million is under 40 years. The objective of this workshops to stall fatality. Going by the incidence of heart attacks which can be controlled with early access to care and help patients to remain productive post the condition, has led STEMI- India to ensure all patients under the BPL (below the poverty line) have quick treatment options, said the course directors of STEMI India. Workshop from June 2-3, 2016 STEMI India is also organising a two-day workshop on management of ST elevation of myocardial infraction on July 2 and 3, 2016 at Hotel Shangri-La, Bengaluru. Around 1,000 delegates including from Africa and Egypt among others in the developing world are expected to participate in the event. The delegates will comprise doctors, nurses and technicians. They will have a first-hand exposure on how to reduce fatality, survive with good heart function and ensure rural and semi-urban doctors are equipped to handle these cases in a time-bound manner. The day and half programme provides a comprehensive review and training to the medical team involved in the processes and procedures in the care of a heart attack patient from the emergency room physician to the clinical cardiologist involved in thrombolysis to the cardiac catherisation lab team in the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) capable hospitals. The course directors of STEMI-India are Dr. Thomas Alexander, Head of Division, Cardiology, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital Coimbatore, Dr. Ajit S Mullasari, Director of Cardiology,The Madras Medical Mission Chennai, Dr. C N Manjunath, Professor and Head of Cardiology, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, Dr. P Ranganath Nayak, Medical Director and Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Vikram Hospital Bengaluru Private Limited, Bengaluru, Dr. S S Iyengar ,Academic Head, Department of Cardiology, Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru STEMI India Device STEMI-India has unveiled a guided medical device which is an ECG, monitoring and data reader designed and developed indigenously by the Mumbai-based Maestros Electronics and Telecommunication Systems which is compact and easy-to-operate device at any remote location will be on display. It will demonstrate the quick and speedy methods to diagnose and administer the first line of blood clot dissolve drugs to stabiles the patient before he is shifted for further treatment. The device is manufactured at the Goa unit.

E-commerce Firms to Invest $8 billion in Infrastructure, Logistics in India: Assocham-PwC Study

With the growing popularity of online shopping in India, the e-commerce companies are expected to invest close to $6-8 billion in logistics, infrastructure and warehousing in the next few years, an Assocham-PwC study said.

The e-commerce market in India is expected to touch $80 billion by 2020.

At present, there is a very low level of air cargo penetration and only a few airports are equipped to handle large volumes of express delivery parcels.

As e-commerce gathers momentum and moves to the tier-II and tier-III cities, there will be increasing demand of expanding air cargo connectivity to smaller towns. The industry would invest about $8 billion by 2025, the study noted.

"Innovations are very important in this sector, as the demand is always for more reach and faster shipping at lower costs. The companies will need to invest in automation, while utilizing existing resources well," said D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham.

The overall e-commerce industry, valued at $25 billion has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 35-40 per cent each year, the study said, adding that it is expected to cross the $100 billion mark in five years.

"India is successful in becoming the largest e-commerce market in the world. The rapid transformation in logistics, innovation, consumerism and productivity prove to be an interesting case study for other emerging economies," Rawat added.

India Total Insurance Premiums Grew by 7.9% in 2015 Owing to Stronger Growth in Life and Non-Life Premiums

Global insurance premiums grew by 3.8% in real terms in 2015, amidst variations in regional growth rates, Swiss Re's latest sigma report says. The overall performance was steady after a 3.4%-gain in direct insurance premiums written in 2014, and coming in an environment of just moderate (2.5%) global economic growth, the latter a key driver of insurance demand. There was a slight slowdown in the life sector in 2015, with global premium growth dipping to 4.0% from 4.3%, due to weaker performance in the advanced markets. On the non-life side, strong growth in the advanced markets of Asia, and improvement in North America and Western Europe, contributed to a 3.6% increase in global premiums, up from 2.4% growth in 2014.

Emerging markets:

In the emerging markets, overall life premium growth almost doubled to near 12%, supported by strong performance in emerging Asia, particularly China. Growth also improved in Latin America but was slower in the Middle East and Central Asia, and Africa, and premiums contracted in Central and Eastern Europe. The non-life sector maintained its robust premium growth trend (+7.8%), primarily driven by China.

India:

In India, total insurance premiums grew strongly by 7.9% in 2015, compared to a contraction of 1.2% in 2014. The improved performance was aided by stronger growth in both life and non-life premiums.

Life premiums growth witnessed a turnaround in India, growing by 7.8% in 2015, compared to a contraction of 2.1% in 2014. The recovery was underpinned by investment-linked products which posted strong growth through bancassurance channels. Non-life premiums growth also picked-up, growing by 8.1%, compared to a growth of 2.2% in 2014. Growth was led by stronger health (including personal accident (PA)) and motor third party liability (MTPL) premiums.

Meanwhile, insurance penetration in India remained low at 3.44% in 2015 compared to the global average of 6.23%, reflecting large untapped potential. Robust economic growth and Government enabling policy actions/initiatives are expected to increase insurance penetration and will act as a catalyst for future growth of the industry.

NASSCOM & Autodesk Partner to Build Global Occupational Standards for Design & Engineering in India

With a focus on bridging employability gaps within the industry NASSCOM has partnered with Autodesk Inc., a world leader in 3D design technology, with a new standardized courseware ‘Product Design Engineer – Mechanical’, so as to enhance skilling in this field. This courseware will empower students in India with the required competencies at the entry level within the larger occupation of Product Engineering Design in the Engineering Research and Development (ERD) sub-sector of the industry. This courseware will help create a skilled talent pool, trained on global standards, with the ability to usher in a design-led future of making things.

To ensure the creation of an academic course that is both relevant and viable, NASSCOM partnered with key industry stakeholders, namely, ANSYS, Autodesk, Geometric, Imaginarium, JCB, LnT Technology Services, SQS, Tata Technologies and TCS. Their inputs have significantly enhanced the design of the curriculum and courseware, which also addresses the need for faculty support, and seeks to achieve this by acquainting trainers with the latest advancements in pedagogy.

Tim Scanlon, Global Engagement Lead, Autodesk Education Experiences (AEX), said, “India needs an evolved education ecosystem built on the foundations of design thinking. This will ensure that the skill-sets possessed by the workforce is relevant and in-sync with the changing requirements of the manufacturing sector. Autodesk has many global initiatives aimed at enabling design skills, right at the grass-root – the students, who eventually join the industry and fuel the growth of national economies. The partnership with NASSCOM will help us in empowering design and engineering professionals and students in India and make them ready for the Future of Making.”

Pradeep Nair, Managing Director Autodesk India and SAARC, said, “The manufacturing sector in India is evolving and making rapid strides towards the future. Students and professionals need to possess the relevant technology skills that can enable them to be industry-ready and capable of driving innovation in product design and engineering. Fusion 360 is a highly advanced design tool that combines industrial and mechanical design, collaboration, and machining in a single package. The courseware based on Fusion 360 will not only up-skill the students but also enable them to dovetail into the evolving requirements of the manufacturing sector in India. Through our collaboration with NASSCOM and IT-ITeS Sector Skill Council NASSCOM, we aim to contribute in upskilling the huge talent pool in India.”

R. Chandrashekhar, President NASSCOM, said “Through this tie-up we hope to provide Indian students an opportunity to upgrade their knowledge in the domain and be at par with global industry standards. NASSCOM is confident that this course will help enhance the skills of professionals in the industry making them market ready.”

India is one of the world’s largest population base of employable youth and is poised to become a sought-after destination for those seeking higher value add and specialized services. Per industry figures, the manufacturing industry contributes nearly 15.1% of India’s GDP and its contribution is expected to be around 25-30% by 2025. The sector is expected to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2025 in the process creating 90 million jobs. This initiative is a collaborative effort with NASSCOM, Autodesk and other industry members, is of great importance for all stakeholders concerned – the industry, academia, and the students. This initiative is expected to build new employability standards, bearing in mind the changing scenario of talent demand and supply in the industry.

Citrus Pay’s Sellfie to Enables Payments on Social Networks using Buy Buttons, Payment Links & Chat Bots

Sellfie, a contextual commerce startup, part of Citrus Payments -India’s fastest growing fintech company has announced the launch of a disruptive platform  that enables individuals and small businesses to sell and collect payments on social networks and instant messengers using buy buttons, payment links and chat bots.

Contextual commerce is the next wave of commerce where consumers share and discover shoppable products and buy the things they find, at the moment of discovery. The advent of new technologies like mobile, apps, and social media — have changed the way how merchants could accept and securely process customer payments.  Merchants looking to offer customers leading-edge payment options are now looking at new ways to enable customers the ability to make purchases and payments wherever they happen to be online, not just on a merchant’s website through contextual commerce.

The app, called Sellfie, allows anyone to take a picture of an item, price it, choose shipping options, and push a link to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram as well as other platforms like WhatsApp to sell and collect payments.Citrus managing director Amrish Rau said that even though Citrus has made it easier for businesses to collect payments seamlessly on web & mobile, it now wants to offer individuals and small businesses implement purchase opportunities into everyday activities and natural environments through contextual commerce.

Apart from enabling sellers to post and collect payments on multiple social networks using buy buttons and payment links, the app also lets sellers chat with buyers and complete the orders received from multiple channels all in one place. Further the app has a one click simple on-boarding process that enables anyone to start using Sellfie without any documentation.Addressing the need for both buyer and seller comfort, Sellfie is designed in a manner where sellers can collect payments anywhere by creating a unique payment link. Taking it a step further, Sellfie’s unique model of escrow payments or “Buyer Protection Guarantee” ensures that payments made by a buyer will be released into the seller’s account only when the buyer receives the product.

Commenting on the launch of Sellfie, Amrish Rau, Managing Director, Citrus Paysaid, “Contextual Commerce is a new frontier for commerce that is growing rapidly. With Sellfie, we will be able to offer a complete commerce solution to help individuals and small businessescan sell on social networks and instant messengers.We are trying to provide an avenue to these sellers to setup their business online in 30 seconds with zero documentation.

Anish Achuthan – Business Head, Sellfiesaid, “Sellfie provides a real time chat platform for sellers and buyers on social networks so that they can negotiate with each other.Sellfie will provide a platform to more than one million individuals and small business onto its platform in three years. We took our time bringing Sellfie into the market and have invested time and effort to ensure that from the user interface to the payment process, everything is simple, easy and organized – the idea is to help individuals capture the businesses within their niche with zero commissions.”

With Sellfie, the possibility of creating an online store presence for pretty much anyone becomes an instant reality, revolutionizing Indian e-commerce by helping small and micro businesses set up business online in 30 seconds with an e-payment facility, a free website, integrated shipping and a host of other services, all through a single platform.

Meenakshi Vajpai Takes Charge as Chief Technology Officer of VLCC

Leading wellness brand VLCC Health Care Limited announced the appointment of Meenakshi Vajpai as Chief Technology Officer.

Ms. Vajpai will be the principle architect of the company’s IT strategies and roadmap. She will lead technology alignment with the organisation's goals of delivering a consistent customer experience.

Welcoming Ms. Vajpai on her appointment on, Vandana Luthra, Founder & Vice Chairperson, VLCC, said, “Technology is what has always set VLCC apart. We have a strong commitment to enhance our information platforms to help us maximize customer experience. Meenakshi brings in extensive depth and experience that will be key in helping us drive our technology-based business management operations and processes.  Her expertise will be instrumental in helping us connect across 11 countries where we operate.”

Vajpai added, “I am delighted to be a part of VLCC. As a leader in the beauty and wellness industry in India, and as one of the early adopters of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in its line of business, VLCC is clearly the forerunner in leveraging technology for service delivery. As we grow in both size and breadth, we will approach the business and technology cross-leverage in a transformational manner. I look forward to further formulate our online business initiatives and ensure visible business differentiators through active use of technology.”

Meenakshi has over 25 years of diverse experience in the IT industry, having worked with organizations like Steel Authority of India, Sapient Corporation, Bharti Airtel Ltd and PVR Ltd.

Paytm’s O2O Reach with Same Day Delivery for an Unmatched user Experience

Taking its pioneering Online to Offline program steps ahead, Paytm, the largest mobile commerce and payment platform has announced to offer same day delivery on products in 20 cities. The company has begun with the deliveries with locally based commerce and will further add more categories to it. Currently, the same day delivery is available on large appliances, mobiles and is already active on the platform. Over Rs 20 crore worth of orders in a month are shipped the same day to the customers. 

Sellers themselves provide the delivery and installation service while Paytm enables them by training on how to manage online customer expectations and experience.

Paytm has over 1.2 lakh sellers on their platform out of which over 3000 are sellers who specialize in shipping large appliances locally. Paytm is aiming to add 10,000 more sellers in 50 top cities to spread the reach of O2O commerce further.

Sudhanshu Gupta, Vice President - Paytm, said, “Paytm is the pioneer of O2O and with same day delivery and installation managed by sellers being added to the arsenal we are able to cover a critical category of large appliances which cannot be shipped by traditional warehousing models.”

Paytm enables consumers to check whether products are available to from nearby sellers who can ship and service the orders. The consumers have to pay a nominal amount to avail the same day shipping and installation services.