1MG – Lido Mall Unveils Campaign to Celebrate Eco-Friendly Diwali

An urgent call to action has been taken by 1MG – Lido Mall after rising pollution levels are forcing Bengaluru residents to leave the city during the festive season to celebrate Diwali with their loved ones. The Mall has launched the eco-friendly Diwali 2018 which commits to no-pollution and no-noise keeping in mind the health and wellbeing of its visitors. With an aim to make a difference, the Mall has also partnered with leading eye care hospital Narayana Nethralaya to promote eye donation. 

Commented Suman Lahiri, Chief Operating Officer, 1MG – Lido Mall, “We have witnessed over 500 people signing up each day ever since we announced the eco-friendly and eye donation campaign on our social media platform. This goes to show that the residents of Bengaluru do care about the welfare of our community and want to play an integral role in the campaign as well”.

Also commented Bhanu Praveen, Marketing Manager, 1MG – Lido Mall, “This Diwali, we commit ourselves to lighting up lives. The figures were indeed alarming and hence we as a Mall decided to launch an eco-friendly Diwali celebration this year onwards which promotes no-pollution and no-noise. We are also addressing key areas on do’s and don’ts of bursting fire crackers and the increasing pollution levels, how loud noise can affect animals and more. All visitors to our Mall also participated in a pledge to celebrate Diwali the eco-friendly way moving forward. Post event, the visitors were treated to Diwali sweets and we tried our best to make the festive season most memorable for all”. 

Also added Roby Varghese, Centre Manager – 1MG Lido Mall, “With an attempt to raise awareness on eye donation, we are encouraging all our visitors to take a pledge towards an eco-friendly Diwali.  The eye donation campaign will also be conducted for all those who are keen to donate their eyes.  The eye donation is considered an act of charity, purely for the benefit of the society and is totally voluntary. 

With over 50 cases of eye injuries reported by Narayana Nethralaya every year on the onset of Diwali, the hospital announced that it will open its doors to offer free consultation and primary eye treatment on the 6th, 7th and 8th of November 2018 to all those whose eyes are affected by the fire crackers. With a fully equipped manpower and resources a dedicated team of doctors will be on standby through the night to administer timely aid to all those who enter their hospitals”. 

Commented Dr. Bhujang Shetty, Founder Chairman and MD Narayana Nethralaya, “Last year the supreme court banned fire crackers and it was quite challenging to have this enforced across the country, especially keeping in mind how people enthusiastically look forward to bursting firecrackers especially during Diwali. However, this year, the balanced judgment from the BBMP with restricted timings and the use of green crackers with low emissions and low sound which has paved way for a more responsible commitment on the citizens and how well we will all work towards preserving our environment. However, the only challenge is that the green cracker are not easily available in the market this year and hence the conventional ones are still being used by most”.

“A city like Bengaluru is already witnessing increasing levels of pollution because of traffic and other reasons.  With Diwali the levels of toxic gases in the air increases to over 50 percent. With so many people already suffering from asthma and allergy, this will only cause more havoc. And it is because of things like these that most people prefer to leave the city during these days, which is really unfortunate. As responsible citizens we also need to understand that it is not the pollution board or the Government to handle these issues, it should be our responsibility not to burn crackers and we inturn should influence others too!”

Topcon and Bentley Strengthen Constructioneering Initiatives and Programs

The Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference– Topcon Positioning Group, a world leader in positioning technology for the survey and construction industries, and Bentley Systems, the leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, announce new developments in the constructioneering workflow initiative.

Constructioneering Academy

The Bentley Year in Infrastructure Conference 2018 (YII) marks the first anniversary of the launch of the Constructioneering Academy initiative of Topcon and the Bentley Institute. The program has been held in multiple locations across North America and Australia throughout the first year and now expands into Europe with the first London-based Constructioneering Academy, part of the YII.

“The Constructioneering Academies are filled with a mix of professionals from companies, governmental agencies and organizations who are involved in putting important infrastructure projects into motion and seeing them through to completion. The uniqueness of the dialogue taking place among participants, representing more than 80 organizations in the first year, cannot be overstated,” said Ewout Korpershoek, executive vice president of Topcon Positioning Group. “The program’s educational and collaborative atmosphere is creating awareness of potential productivity gaps that can be encountered on a project, and how those gaps can be filled, resulting in a paradigm shift in how work can be accomplished.”

Alan Lamont, Bentley Systems’ vice president for Digital Advancement Academies, said, “The active participation and feedback that we have experienced during the various Constructioneering Academy events have been very informative and encouraging. The level of interest and feedback demonstrate that there is a clear need for automated digital workflows between design and construction to help project teams be more efficient and avoid mistakes. We look forward to expanding the reach of Constructioneering Academies to other geographic locations.”

“We are looking forward to building upon the success of the inaugural year of the Constructioneering Academy,” said Ron Oberlander, vice president of Global Professional Services for Topcon Positioning Group. “The industry needs these types of programs as a catalyst to drive digital automation adoption. A key part of the initiative is the interaction of field and office professionals from the ‘front lines’ and we are excited to provide this opportunity to professionals around the world.

“We believe the Constructioneering Academies are truly fostering progress. For the industry to be successful in meeting future infrastructure demands, we have to change the mindsets and processes on how we approach construction. What Topcon and Bentley have initiated and will continue to evolve is an exciting journey to help shape that change,” Oberlander said.

Sasken Becomes a Member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

Sasken Technologies Ltd., (formerly Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd.), a leading product engineering and digital transformation solutions provider, today announced that it has joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the world's largest open source blockchain initiative.

Sasken has been working on Ethereum to develop solutions and accelerators for several industry use cases such as revenue-sharing solution for multimodal public transportation system, enhancing security of IoT edge network, and asset registry for industrial equipment.

“We are already leveraging blockchain for developing solutions to expedite transactions, improve working capital, improve efficiency, reduce disputes, and build trust in industry ecosystems,” said Raman Sapra, Executive Vice President and General Manager-Digital, Sasken. “We are excited to join the EEA as it provides us an avenue for networking with the alliance members, contribute to working groups, and expedite development of Ethereum-based enterprise grade solutions for Transportation, Industrial, and Manufacturing segments.”

With more than 500 member companies, the EEA membership base represents a wide variety of business sectors from every region of the world. The EEA’s industry-focused, member-driven working groups are each tasked with creating and delivering specific advancements to the development and use of Ethereum-based technologies.

1MG – Lido Mall Lights Up Lives with Eco-Diwali and Free Eye Surgery

Ensuring celebrations last for a lifetime, 1MG-Lido Mall is spreading awareness on eco-friendly Diwali and ensuring public health and safety with a strong message on no-noise and no-pollution this Diwali 2018.

Come and join the celebration on Friday, 2nd November from 5:30 to 6:30pm at 1MG Mall where all visitors will be handed out eco-friendly diya and will light lamps together. Shortly after the lamp lighting ceremony, sweets will be distributed to all mall visitors. 

With the objective to ensure an environmentally safe Diwali, the Mall in partnership with Narayana Nethralaya hospital will be offering a free surgery to anyone who has lot their eye sight on account of lighting Diwali crackers. The free eye surgery will be conducted by Dr. K. Bhujang Shetty, Founder Chairman & MD Narayana Nethralaya to anyone who has lost their eyes on account of lighting fire crackers during the Diwali season. 

In an attempt to raise awareness on eye donation, 1MG – Lido Mall is encouraging more visitors to sign in and take the pledge on a no-pollution and no-noise eco friendly Diwali moving forward. An eye donation campaign will also be conducted for all those who are keen to donate their eyes.  The eye donation is considered an act of charity, purely for the benefit of the society and is totally voluntary.

Land Rover Supports Red Cross Disaster Projects Worldwide

Natural disasters can strike at any time, so Land Rover and the Red Cross are helping people in remote areas to prepare for the worst. 

Such support has never been more important: the World Disaster Report 2018 estimates 134 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year. The report, by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), says challenging terrain, limited infrastructure, conflicts and natural hazards can all make it hard to get help to where it's needed.

To mark the release of the report, Land Rover and the Red Cross have released a film about the life-changing threats of natural hazards and the humanitarian work to help vulnerable people in isolated communities.

Land Rover funds a community preparedness project in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, which aims to support 55 000 people in vulnerable communities. In the last two years, the Mexican Red Cross has travelled over 37 015 km in order to reach these isolated communities.

Following the 2017 earthquake, the Mexican Red Cross were able to mobilise 1 200 search and rescue specialists and 31 000 volunteers to support the rescue efforts to deliver earthquake relief and response to more than a million people.

Chris Thorp, Responsible Business Director, Jaguar Land Rover said:“Through our partnership with the Red Cross we are committed to providing support to isolated communities like those in the Chiapas region of Mexico.

“The technology and capability of Land Rover vehicles enables them to get to the hardest to reach people in some of the world's most challenging terrain."

Alexander Matheou, Executive Director of International at the British Red Cross, said: “Millions of people worldwide are in crisis and need urgent humanitarian aid. In the past decade earthquakes have caused more than 350 000 deaths and the recent disaster in Indonesia has left a trail of destruction, bringing the importance of our humanitarian work to the forefront.

“These events are truly devastating. Through our partnership with Land Rover we’re able to gain access to some of the hardest-to-reach areas and support vulnerable people throughout the world. We’re committed to working together to continue helping communities prepare for and recover from disasters.”

Jessica Lara, Chiapas Programme Co-ordinator, said: “Working in such remote communities can be a challenge. We work with lots of people from different cultures and we have to earn their trust. The earthquake was one of the factors that have let us into these communities, who now understand they are exposed and that disasters can happen at any moment.” 

Land Rover has worked in partnership with the Red Cross for more than 60 years. Since 2013 the partnership has raised more than US $ 12.8 m for people in need, funding 18 humanitarian projects in 25 countries.

Electronic Health Pill Innovation for Cardiac Care Wins ‘Accenture Innovation Challenge’ 2018

Accenture has announced the winners of the Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018, a competition in India that aims to inspire students to apply their technology talent and creativity to develop innovative ideas that can create social and business impact. The grand prize was awarded to the team from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (Sir MVIT), Bengaluru for their solution ‘Aayush’, a cost-effective ingestible battery-less electronic health pill that can continuously record health metrics to predict and prevent heart attacks and cardiac arrests.

Other winners in the competition included teams from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras; Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru; IIT-Kharagpur; Manav Rachna International Institute for Research and Studies, Faridabad; and Delhi Technological University, New Delhi. The winners were announced at the competition’s grand finale held recently in Bengaluru, which featured 16 finalists, all of them from the engineering discipline.

The Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018 was open to students pursuing graduate, under-graduate and post-graduate programs. Students were encouraged to develop ingenious technology solutions using advanced technologies such as advanced analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cybersecurity, immersive reality and internet of things, among others.

“We are thrilled that the Accenture Innovation Challenge this year has seen a record participation – over 13,000 entries involving over 30,000 students across 1,000+ colleges in India. Technology innovation is driving disruption in many industries, and it is exciting to see how students have applied advanced technologies to develop innovative ideas in diverse areas such as medical care, trauma care, dairy farming, energy management, music, railroad management, personal data privacy, fraud management, eco construction, and so on”, said, Mohan Sekhar, senior managing director and lead for Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India. “The innovative and creative abilities these students have exhibited are commendable and we heartily congratulate all the winners and participants”.

The five awards and their winners are:

Grand Prize: Awarded to the team from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru for ‘Aayush’, a cost-effective ingestible battery-less electronic health pill to predict and prevent heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrests. ‘Aayush’ records metrics such as PH level, body temperature, heart rate and myeloperoxidase protein content of a person using bio-medical sensors from the body and transmits data to a mobile app via a wearable smart patch. The solution features a built-in artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistant, which monitors data for abnormal variations in the parameters, and analyzes and predicts a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest 9 – 11 minutes prior to it taking place. In cases of an emergency, the solution uses GPS location to alert the nearest hospital and the person’s family or caretaker group about the need for immediate medical care.

* ‘Innovate for Businesses’ category award: Won by the team from IIT-Madras, for their solution ‘Microwave Pyrolysis’, which can convert waste into energy through microwave pyrolysis, an age-old technique of thermal decomposition that converts non-metal waste into forms of energy including oil, gas, and char, which have multiple uses and can be incorporated into existing product supply chains.

* ‘Innovate for the Society’ category award: Won by the team from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, for developing ‘EyeSee’, a solution which features a virtual reality (VR) app and headset to simulate the commonly used Humphrey field analyzer tool to carry out glaucoma detection tests. The solution is more affordable and portable to use, making it more feasible to use among people in rural and inaccessible areas.

* Jury’s Choice award: The jury named two teams as winners of this category:

‘MusicManiac’, developed by students from IIT-Kharagpur is a system that automatically chooses chords to accompany a vocal melody using melody extraction and Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) files, thereby giving novice musicians the opportunity to automatically create music and experiment with chord patterns without any professional knowledge of music.
‘Virtual Exposure Therapy’ (VET), is a solution jointly developed by students from Manav Rachna International Institute for Research and Studies, Faridabad and Delhi Technological University, New Delhi. VET is a solution that aims to treat people with phobias and post-traumatic disorders in a virtual reality environment, by recreating trauma relevant scenarios, providing analysis and monitoring improvement of the patient’s psychological condition.

* Employees’ Choice award: The winner of this award was chosen through voting by employees of Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India. This award was won by the team from IIT-Madras, for developing ‘Artemis’, a robot that can detect and analyze cracks in railway tracks using ultrasound technology and IoT. Some key features of this fully automated method include storing the location of cracks, sending alerts on identified cracks to mobile phones, detecting loose fish plates and surveying for anomalies on tracks. The solution aims to address the problem of train derailments in India, which cause massive loss of life and property every year.

The Grand Prize winner received prizes worth INR 150,000 and each member of the two teams selected as category winners — for ‘Innovate for Businesses’ and ‘Innovate for the Society’ — received prizes worth INR 75,000.

The winners for the Accenture Innovation Challenge 2018 were chosen from among 16 shortlisted teams that presented their ideas to a jury panel featuring Anupam Sinha, Co-founder and CEO – Vxceed; Daniel Raj David, CEO and Co-Founder – Detect Technologies; Hari Bharadwaj, Founder and CEO – eSahai; Manish Singh, Senior Director of Product Mobile and Internet – Ola (ANI Technologies); Dr. M. Vijayalakshmi, Professor and Vice Principal – Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of Technology (VESIT), Mumbai; Sunil Rao, Partner, Business Services – Lightspeed Ventures Partners; Sunit Singh, Partner and Co-Founder – Design Capital; and Thomas Dal, Director and Dean – Strate School of Design.

Synechron Opens New Financial Innovation Lab in Singapore

Synechron, a leading Digital IT Consulting firm and technology services provider for financial services, has today announced that it has launched a new office and state-of-the-art Financial Innovation Lab (FinLab) in Singapore. The new facility will help build Synechron’s offering in the APAC region and partner with our clients on interactive workshops related to key digital strategies, such as AI, Blockchain, Data Analytics and RegTech that are reshaping the Financial Services landscape.

Synechron’s new office in Singapore will strengthen its capabilities in serving the APAC financial services market. Given Synechron’s new brand promise to ‘Accelerate Digital’, there will be a particular focus on Digital in the region. This comes after the appointment of a new APAC Head of Synechron, Mihir Shah. Shah brings extensive capital markets, innovation, and technology experience to the Singapore office, coming from Synechron’s London office, with 16+ years’ experience in Capital Markets and a proven track record implementing and leading innovation in financial services, with 11+ years spent at UBS.

Singapore is Synechron’s APAC hub from which we support clients across the region. Given our investment in Asia, Synechron expects to continue to add talent to the existing 50+ strong team across our Asian locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Manila.

Mihir Shah, Head of Synechron APAC, said: “The APAC region is a huge center for financial services innovation, and with our new FinLab, we will be able to accelerate banks’ digital transformation journeys to include even more emerging technologies with AI and data science, machine learning, Blockchain, and more, and create new solutions and further innovation to areas like banking, user experience, and wealth management.”

The new FinLab in Singapore leverages Synechron’s 300+ digital innovation SMEs globally and hosts over 50 Accelerators and counting. The space will allow clients to have direct interaction with the latest technology and prototypes in the market, including our recent Data Science Accelerators. This opening marks the 12th FinLab operating globally, with the others located in New York, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, London, Dubai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Serbia, Paris, and most recently, an upgraded FinLab in Amsterdam to expand its Technology business. Synechron will also be hosting its inaugural FinLabs Day on November 15th to showcase its newest innovations in Data Science.

Faisal Husain, Co-founder and CEO of Synechron, said: “Innovation and emerging technologies, and particularly their use in financial services, are evolving every day, and digital services are a large part of that. We are committed to expanding our global footprint to accelerate the digital transformation journey for banks and financial services firms, and our expansion to the APAC region is a strategic one. Our FinLab in Singapore will allow us to innovate with banks and will play a vital role in Synechron’s Accelerating Digital strategy to be the leading digital FS consultancy.”