MilkLane Unveils ‘Toxin & Antibiotic Safe’ Milk with No preservatives Across Bengaluru City

MilkLane, a Bengaluru based dairy start-up, launches its first milk product for the retail consumers in the city. The company, which adheres to international quality standards, is promoting and differentiating the new product as ‘Toxin and Antibiotic Safe’ milk. It forays into the mass market consumer segment, after being active in the B2B segment delivering milk to industrial scale off-takers such as FMCG companies, industrial processors and milk product manufacturers.

The high-quality milk is available in packaging of 500 ml and at an attractive price point of INR 35/-. With no added preservatives, the milk is processed with Ultra-High-Temperature (UHT) technology to provide safe and enhanced 90-days non-refrigerated shelf life.

Earlier test-marketed in Bengaluru, MilkLane continues to receive good response from consumers and the retail stores. Within a very short span, the company has been able to expand its network with the product available on most e-commerce platforms such as Big Basket, BigBasket Daily, Grofers, Amazon Prime Now, Flipkart, Daily Ninja, Doodhwala and others. It has a presence in more than 450 retail stores in the city as well.

Speaking about the launch, Akshaya Kamath, Director at MilkLane said, “Rise in urbanization has led to change in lifestyles and consumers are increasingly opting for healthier options. There is a huge market appetite for high-quality milk in India. With our entry into the retail segment, we have laid the foundation for our business’s next growth pillar. The company has set an ambitious target of grabbing at least 10% of market share in Bengaluru within a year.

Gaurav Haran, COO at MilkLane said, “MilkLane’s aims to create awareness and set the benchmark for offering high-quality milk to the Indian consumer. In fact, every batch of milk undergoes multiple stringent quality checks. Contamination of milk with aflatoxin and misuse of antibiotics in dairy farms could have serious public health implications. So, we take extra care by working closely with dairy farmers, providing proprietary high-quality cattle feed to mitigate the risks of milk contamination arising out of poor-quality feeding.”

Unlike typical central chilling/cold storage model followed by conventional milk companies, MilkLane works with a unique ‘bulk milk chiller’(BMC) model which helps bring down the time taken for collection of milk thereby increases the shelf life and quality of the milk. Additionally, the BMC model is driving rural micro-entrepreneurs and providing livelihood opportunities to the youth.

MilkLane is associated with over 7,000 farmers spread across multiple states assisting them on the complete life cycle of the milk procurement process, providing veterinary supervision to enabling animal loans. MilkLane’s integrated procurement system ensures transparency and better earnings for the dairy farmers, while helps maintain strong quality checks as well.

MilkLane does not dry the milk to reduce the cost of transporting and storing. Thereby the company promises high quality cow milk with 3% fat and great taste confirming to the international standards of milk quality.

What makes MilkLane a truly good milk?

Toxin Safe - Aflatoxins are toxins produced by fungi that grow on maize, brans, oilseed cakes normally fed to cows. But MilkLane provides the farmers with high-quality feed ration free of toxins, which results in consumers getting toxin safe milk every day.
Antibiotic Safe - It’s the same with antibiotics. Cows fall sick and may require antibiotics to recover. These antibiotics flow through into the milk. However, MilkLane is careful enough to educate the farmer on disease prevention, to keep the cows healthy. If a sick cow requires medication to recover, the company has guidelines to keep them away from healthy milking cows. It conducts regular tests to always provide healthy and antibiotic safe milk for consumers.

Healthy Milk is Good Milk – Free-range cows which are happy, healthy and loved will only yield the best quality milk. To experience the same, consumers can visit MilkLane’s procurement facility and meet the farmers associated with the company. They can see where your milk comes from, how and where the cows live. What they eat and how they are cared.
Produced by entrepreneurs – MilkLane’s farmers take pride in their business. They nurture healthy cows that give tasty milk. Due to purity, farmers find more demand for their produce. Which in turn leads to better profits and them rearing more cows. This is not a cooperative. This is a business driven by their passion. A passion that navigates their journey towards producing only the best milk for consumers.

Processed on location - MilkLane follows BMC (bulk milk cooler) model which helps bring down the time taken for collection of milk, which is collected directly from the farms and immediately chills it to 4 degrees Celsius in cooling chambers located in the village. This is important because bacteria starts growing exponentially every 20 minutes and cooling helps suppress that. The cooling tankers are then taken to the pasteurization plant where the milk is immediately packed for storage. The company goes the extra mile and test every batch of our milk for impurities and toxins to ensure delivering 100% safe milk every single day.

UHT Milk - Ultra-heat treatment (UHT) involves processing and sterilizing milk at high temperatures (up to 135 degrees Celsius) to destroy bacteria and germs. The process enhances the shelf life of the milk, which can be stored at room temperature and need not to be boiled or even stored in a refrigerator before consumption. UHT process does not use any preservatives to improve shelf life, but preserves all the nutrients in the milk that is then packaged in pre-sterilized tetra packs.

Land Rover Announces ‘The Above & Beyong Tour’ for FY19-20 in India

Key Highlights

* Jaguar Land Rover India announced the start of ‘The Above & Beyond Tour’ for FY19-20 with the first event starting in Ahmedabad from April 12, 2019
* ‘The Above & Beyond Tour’ is a series of events that deliver exceptional off-road drive experiences to customers on natural trails and demonstrate the iconic design and advanced technologies that make Land Rover SUVs remarkably capable and best-suited for Indian conditions

Jaguar Land Rover India today announced the start of the much anticipated and one-of-its-kind, ‘The Above & Beyond Tour’, with the first event in Ahmedabad from April 12, 2019. The tour will travel across a number of cities in India and offer exceptional off-road drive experiences to existing and potential customers of Land Rover in a highly safe, authentic, relevant and engaging manner.

Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL), said: “Over the years, Land Rover events have become highly desirable. They are a perfect platform for us to bring the Land Rover brand closer to our customers by delivering experiences that they will remember for life.”

‘The Above & Beyond Tour’ is organised and delivered by a team of highly trained Land Rover instructors, in the highly versatile Discovery Sport and the extremely stylish Range Rover Evoque. The first Land Rover drive experience event was conducted in India in 2013 and since then over 18,000 memorable experiences have been delivered.

Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka Now on ShareChat to Create “Voter Awareness Campaign”

Ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019, Chief Electoral Office, Karnataka has joined ShareChat, India’s #1 regional social media platform.

With social media being a primary source to impart information, @CEO_karnataka on ShareChat is currently sharing informative posts, caution posts and are appealing to voters to go and vote this election. Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka has also tied up with Sakkath Studio as their digital and creative partner to create short form videos to disseminate information on elections.

In order to facilitate easy search of election content, ShareChat has built a separate category for elections where people can read all about elections 2019. In order to show support to the Election Commission, people can also post their selfies with election filters.

A.V Surya Sen, Joint Chief Electoral Officer said, “We are very excited to announce that we are now on ShareChat and we will be able to spread the importance of voting and create awareness amongst ShareChat audiences in kannada language. We learn that ShareChat users in Karnataka are present even in the remotest part of the state and hugely consists of a young audience who will be probably voting for the first time. Therefore, it became imperative for us to be present on ShareChat to get maximum reach.”

“We are very thrilled to welcome Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka on ShareChat. We have seen a lot of traction on their profile and ShareChat users are actively engaging with their content. As an Indian social media platform, we feel the need to be a responsible platform and we feel that with the presence of @CEO_karnataka on the platform, we will be able to reach out to millions of ShareChat users in Kannada and help them consume information on responsible voting”, said Ankush Sachdeva, Chief Executive Officer, ShareChat.

About ShareChat:

ShareChat, India’s #1 regional social network platform is a technology led start-up based out of Bangalore. Founded by three IIT Kanpur alumni, it is a home-grown platform developed keeping in mind the needs of Indian audience across the country.  The app is aimed at providing users with an unmatchable networking experience in their native language.  ShareChat has scaled up its user base on the back of one the widest content across genres and great user experience driven by an intuitive user interface and other innovative features. The user generated content platform has an established a base of over 45 million monthly active users spread across the country and is available in 14 Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, Assamese, Haryanvi, Rajasthani and Bhojpuri. Spearheading India's internet revolution, ShareChat is changing the way in which the next billion Indian users consume the internet. The ShareChat app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Data Threats (Health) and How They Could Be Mitigated Globally?

We’ve never had more information about our health stored electronically than we do today, and the quantity being generated is steadily increasing. Wearables track our every step and heartbeat, test results can be viewed online, hospitals are using more IoT devices to help with our care – the list goes on. Protecting that data has been a struggle for some time. The United States passed legislation called HIPAA in 1996 to help keep medical information private. In 2016, a string of ransomware attacks across the United States and Canada frequently made the news for locking down hospital systems and patient data.

Between the data generated within medical institutions and the data we generate on our own through medical devices, apps and at-home test kits, there’s no shortage of privacy and security challenges. This is reflected in the statistics: a popular paper from IEEE Access points out several reports, one of which found that 40% of the 43 health and fitness apps they inspected “imply high risk” to users’ privacy. Another found that of 24,000 health-related apps for iOS and Android, “95.63% of the apps pose at least some potential damage through information security and privacy infringement.” For hospitals, the threat surface is varied and hard to manage.

According to Kayne McGladrey, IEEE Member and Director of Security and Information Technology at Pensar Development, “Medical institutions are deploying an increasing array of IoT devices from a variety of vendors. This is not always by choice of the medical institution; rather, as vendors have connected all of their products to the Internet, it forces buyers to adopt heterogeneous IoT technologies.”

Features that are meant to make life easier can also contribute to the issue. Karen Panetta, IEEE Fellow and Dean of Graduate Education, Tufts University, says “Third-party modules, add-ons, guest accounts and remote accessibility continue to be the access points of choice for these attacks.”

A main reason ransomware attacks have continued is that they’re still profitable. It’s easy to get hung up on the injustice – after all, incapacitating a hospital’s computer system when people are receiving life-saving treatment isn’t easy to stomach. But hospitals often pay the asking price that the hackers set. Why? McGladrey’s answer is simple: “The costs associated with paying a ransom in these environments would be considerably lower than the litigation and fines if people were to be harmed by the lack of availability or the destruction of medical data.”

Hero Motocorp Unveils Customer Benefit Scheme to Encourage Citizens to Vote During Ongoing Polls

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, today launched a unique nationwide customer benefit initiative to encourage its over 80 million customers in the country to vote during the upcoming 2019 General Elections.

To support the world’s largest democratic elections, the Company has rolled-out an exciting vehicle maintenance scheme for customers who exercise their Right to Vote.

After casting their vote, customers can come to Hero MotoCorp dealerships and workshops, with the voter’s ink mark on their finger, to avail a free two-wheeler wash and get their vehicles serviced at Rs. 199/- only. The scheme will be available up to two-days after the polling day in every city during the months of April-May 2019.

Customers can also pre-book the vehicle-servicing package. To know more about the initiative, customers can visit the nearest Hero MotoCorp dealership in their city.

Twitter Lights Up with 45.6 Million Tweets as India Kicks Off the World’s Largest Democratic Exercise

Twitter is the best place to find out what's happening and to join the public conversation. With the #LokSabhaElections2019 having just begun, the platform is buzzing with conversation.

Polling started on Thursday morning for 91 seats in 18 states and 2 union territories and the conversation on the platform reflected this. Twitter recorded 45.6 million Tweets related to the Lok Sabha Elections from 11th March 2019, the day elections were announced, until 11th April 2019. Of the 45.6 million Tweets recorded during that period, 1.2 million were Tweeted on April 11th, 2019 during phase one of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Throughout the campaigning period, politicians and political parties have been using Twitter to communicate with citizens all over the country. Campaigns, manifestos and announcements around policies and key social issues have accounted for some of the top-Tweeted moments as voters got ready to go to the polls.

Along with politicians and parties, citizens have been using the platform to address their queries directly to contesting leaders. Prime Minister Modi (@narendramodi) has emerged as the most mentioned figure during this first phase of the #LokSabhaElections2019 conversations on Twitter.

Indians in India and across the world have been engaging in dynamic conversations around the elections with relevant Hashtags, Replies and Retweets, to discuss the topics that matter most to them. In the past month, leading up to elections, national security has emerged as the most talked about election-related topic on Twitter.

With several phases to go, Twitter is encouraging healthy democratic participation by giving citizens a voice and a platform to be heard in the national conversation online. To that effect, Twitter India also launched their latest video in the #PowerOf18 series to encourage young Indians to participate in civic discourse, understand the significance of their right to vote and contribute to public debate on Twitter.

TVS Motor Company Introduces Two New Colours Celebrating its 25 Years of TVS Scooty

TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers, today celebrated 25 years of its iconic brand TVS Scooty, with introduction of two new colours – Revving Red and Glittering Gold for TVS Scooty Pep+.

TVS Scooty, is an iconic Indian automotive brand.  The scooter has been a fun experience for 25 years, a significant milestone which has been made possible by its attractive range of products along with an unwavering focus on quality and target group – the young Indian woman. This consumer connect has made TVS Scooty, synonymous with female mobility in The evolution of its consumer has been matched by TVS Scooty, every step of the way.  Today, the brand has two solid products under its umbrella – TVS Scooty Pep+, India’s most economical scooter offering with best total cost of ownership, and TVS Zest 110.

Most women drivers on the road today, not limited to two-wheelers, had their first taste of independence astride the TVS Scooty.  To ensure this phenomenon of personal mobility spread far and wide, TVS Scooty, initiated “Women on Wheels” - India’s first two-wheeler Rider Training Institute for women.  Over the years, this journey of staying relevant has also been backed by multiple innovations from TVS Scooty like the introduction of India’s first mass customisation program “99 colours”, or celebratory special series like the Wimbledon edition. TVS Scooty has also earned its place in the record books with TVS Zest 110 becoming the first 110cc scooter to scale the highest motorable road in the world, Khardung La, (India Book of Records) leading to one of the most loved social media and experiential campaign – Himalayan Highs. Over the last three years, this campaign has further built on the popular brand franchise while creating brand advocates.

The TVS Scooty has always stayed true to its consumer of the New Age Indian women making their every ride Comfortable, Affordable, Safe and Fun.

Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Aniruddha Haldar, Vice President (Marketing) – Commuter Motorcycles, Scooters & Corporate Brand, TVS Motor Company, said, " TVS Scooty Pep+, is much more than just India's No. 1 economical scooter catering to over 4.5 million customers. In its journey of 25 years, it has always evolved to stay relevant to its purpose of being the most viable mobility option for the New Age Indian women, making their commute affordable, comfortable, safe and fun. A TVS Scooty is passed down in the family and seldom resold, this is a measure of love that the brand has enjoyed. We are humbled and grateful to the generations of proud TVS Scooty owners, who built this brand to its iconic status, and made it synonymous with female mobility in India."

TVS Scooty now comes equipped with Synchronized Braking Technology (SBT) across the range.  The new edition of TVS Scooty Pep+ sports a special 25th year-anniversary edition logo along with new graphics to mark the milestone.

TVS Scooty comes in 2 major variants:

TVS Scooty PEP+ Powered by an 87.8 cc, air-cooled single cylinder Ecothrust engine that develops 4.9 PS of power and 5.8 Nm of torque, the Ecothrust engine ensures long-lasting, trouble-free and comfortable rides to consumers. With best-in-class ground reachability and a telescopic suspension that makes bumpy rides comfortable, TVS Scooty Pep+ promises an ultimate peppy comfort ride. TVS Scooty Pep+ is equipped with smart features like mobile charger socket, side stand alarm, under-seat storage hooks, DRLs, an open glove box and TVS's patented ‘Eazy’ Stand technology, which reduces the effort to put the vehicle on the centre stand by 30%.

TVS Zest 110 is powered by a single cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled 109.7cc CVTI engine and a top-notch overall ride handling. Targeted at the New-age Indian Woman of today, the TVS Zest 110 stands true to the DNA of a scooter, while maintaining a fun look, coupled with vibrant colours, elegant design and a remarkable initial pick up of 0 - 60 kmph in mere 11.1 seconds. TVS Zest 110 holds the record for being the first scooter to reach the highest motorable road at Khardung La.

Apart from the new colours, TVS Scooty Pep+ comes in a range of 5 colour themes grouped under three sets. The Starlet Series is available in Frosted Black and Vivacious Purple. The EcoSmart Series includes Nero Blue and Nero Brown themes while the Babelicious series is available in Princess Pink shade.

Priced at Rs. 42,397, TVS Scooty Pep+ is available across TVS Motor Company dealership in the country.