Castrol India and 3M India Announce a Strategic Collaboration for Vehicle Care Products

Castrol India Limited (Castrol), one of India’s leading automotive and industrial lubricants brands, along with 3M India Limited (3M) - subsidiary of the globally recognized technology company, today announced a strategic collaboration to bring a range of market leading vehicle care products to the automotive after-market.

The collaboration agreement was signed by Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited, and Debarati Sen, Managing Director, 3M India Limited, in Mumbai today.

A range of 3M-Castrol branded bike and car care products including shampoo, glass cleaner, cream wax, dashboard and tyre dressers will be available across India.

Commenting on the collaboration, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited said, “Castrol is excited to combine our technological expertise, marketing and distribution strengths with 3M, a global leader in vehicle care innovation. Through this collaboration we enter into the $200 million vehicle care market in India, a move which aligns with Castrol’s approach to developing and embracing new business models in the ever-evolving automotive landscape.”

Debarati Sen, Managing Director, 3M India Limited added, “We are really pleased to see this collaboration come to life between two globally respected and trusted brands.  Castrol and 3M, both have an established presence in India and share values of customer-centricity, with innovation and technology at the heart of everything we do. This collaboration will help us leverage our common strengths to meet the changing needs of Indian consumers and bring unique value offerings through the 3M-Castrol range of vehicle care products.”

Castrol and 3M look to harness a new business model with this collaboration. Castrol offers 3M’s market-leading vehicle-care products range to its customers and consumers, and 3M India will leverage the strength of Castrol’s robust pan-India marketing and distribution network of over 100,000 independent workshops and retail outlets.

Shyam Balasubramanian, Global Innovation Director, Castrol said, “We are bringing together Castrol’s extensive network with 3M’s innovation capabilities to improve the driving experience of our consumers. We are confident of being able to scale up the model.”

PT Mukund, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Executive Director, Asia said, “We are very excited to bring together 3M’s Automotive Aftermarket solutions with Castrol’s reputed lubricants offerings to enable superior automotive care for India customers.”

Tata Motors Collaborates with IOCL to Launch First-of-its-Kind ‘Saarthi Aaram Kendra’ for Driver Welfare in India

Enhancing our commitment towards the betterment of the driver community, Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, in conjunction with the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), the largest commercial oil company in India, launched an innovative, industry-first driver welfare initiative, ‘Saarthi Aaram Kendra’. The initiative provides pit stops for drivers to take rest, thereby supporting their physical and mental well-being. The first of many, Saarthi Aaram Kendras, was inaugurated at Bawal today, which is located on India’s busiest National highway-NH8.

Enabling driver welfare and safety has always been the foremost priority for Tata Motors and Indian Oil. The Saarthi Aaram Kendra is a step forward towards recognizing the efforts of commercial vehicle saarthis by providing them access to basic amenities on the go. The facility has been comprehensively designed to have an end-to-end solution for the saarthis, which includes restrooms, restaurant, secured parking with CCTV camera, self-cooking, launderette, open bathing facility, barber shop, clean drinking water facility, TV and Wi-Fi. Saarthis can also avail truck related services from the vehicle service workshop available within the premises.

As a part of the commitment towards the saarthi community, Tata Motors recently also introduced an initiative, under the banner of ‘Tata Motors Samarth’, a program, which covers areas like accidental insurance, hospitalization cover, financial counselling and educational assistance packages for their children, in order to achieve economic, social and health wellbeing of the saarthis and their families.

Along the same lines, Indian Oil through its Large Format ROs and ‘Sarai’ has ensured comfort to long distance drivers. Regular eye check-ups under the name ‘Ujala’, training on safe driving practices, distribution of driver kits are few other initiatives Indian Oil has taken up for the welfare of drivers.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr Girish Wagh, President - CVBU, Tata Motors Limited, said, “At Tata Motors, ensuring road safety and comfort to our Saarthis is our priority. Saarthi Aaram Kendra is an initiative offering basic facilities on the go to the commercial vehicle saarthis. It offers an environment wherein saarthis will easily have access to their basic needs, this, in turn, will help them de-stress after long journeys and thereby improve their overall efficiency. We are glad to associate with IndianOil for this initiative bringing comfort and safety to the saarthis. In the initial phase, around 100+ saarthis will benefit every day at this facility, which will be gradually scaled up.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vigyan Kumar, Executive Director (Retail Sales), IndianOil, said, “IndianOil and Tata Motors have come together for various business tie-ups in the past and this new joint initiative on driver welfare activity will further improve the goodwill towards driver community. IndianOil has always pioneered in taking various driver-centric initiatives at most of its highway retail outlets. Saarthi Aaram Kendra is another such unique initiative taken in this direction to cater to the daily needs of commercial vehicle drivers in a more efficient manner which will provide a feeling of homestay to them at our Retail outlets.”

Going forward, Tata Motors and IOCL plan to set up more such facilities on high traffic National Highways.

MSSI Launches World MS Day 2019 with a Photography Exhibition at Karnatka Chitrakala Parishat, Bangalore

To mark this year’s World MS Day (WMSD), and to highlight the invisible symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), MSSI, Bengaluru Chapter, in association with the Rotary Raj Mahal Vilas, Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd., Ubiqare, Honeycomb India Pvt Ltd,   and Sanofi Genzyme will be hosting a photography exhibition at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat till  May 31st, 2019 followed by an exhibition & at the Honeycomb Art Gallery, Koramangala from 1st June to 7th June 2019.

RJ Melodee : Keeping with the theme of this year, a group of photographers based in the Bengaluru came together to depict what life looks like to live with MS and the emotional impact it can have on people with MS (PwMS).

The objective of this exhibition is to not only capture the emotions behind the condition, but to create awareness about it.  The general understanding of MS and how it can impact everyone differently is very limited.  MS is one of the most common neurological disorders and causes of disability in young adults worldwide. There are 2.3 million people with MS worldwide. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 31. with around twice as many women diagnosed than men. We estimate that around 2,00,000 MS persons of them are from India. The cause of MS is not yet known and yet there is no cure, though there are treatments available that can help some forms of MS and stop its progression. Symptoms can include blurred vision, weak limbs, tingling sensations, unsteadiness, memory problems and fatigue. MS makes life unpredictable for everyone. Therefore, as it is not a very common disorder in India it is very often mis-diagnosed and there is very little awareness of the same in the Society.

Commenting on the upcoming photography exhibition, MSSI’s WMSD representative Shankar Subramanian said, “They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Through the stories and images, we plan to bring an awareness of MS in a country where it is still difficult for people to come out in the open and share that they have MS. We plan to bring in the empathy required to care and support people with MS.”

A group of 6 photographers from India namely Arun Bhat, Girish Mayachari, Kshithidhar, Punkaj Gupta, Shankar Subramanian & Tanya Raj were given the task of interpreting the photographs to represent the Invisible symptoms.  Some photos have been made by PwMS, featuring MS Persons and some photos just have volunteers. One of the youngest photographers on the project, Kshitidhar S, says “As soon as I heard about the project, I was very happy that it was an amazing opportunity to work on symptoms of a debilitating disease i.e., multiple sclerosis. I felt capturing these invisible symptoms would be a great challenge and it would help people know the symptoms through the photographs.”

After the initial exhibition, the plan is to take this forward to other cities in the country as well. During the exhibition, interactive physical models will be created in the gallery for the visitors to experience these symptoms.  They will be provided with a sheet where they can tally the photographs with the corresponding symptom. The core objective of this exhibition is to end on a positive note and to showcase that despite all the challenges, the persons with MS always put up a brave fight.

Ficci Survey Puts Q4, 2019 India's GDP Growth at 6.5 Percent

India’s GDP likely grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter ended March 2019, said an economic outlook survey of industry chamber Ficci on Thursday.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will release the official data on Friday.

Ficci said survey has put forth an annual median GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 at 7.1% and the projection for fiscal 2020-21 has been put at 7.2%. “The minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at 6.8% and 7.3%, respectively, for 2019-20 in the survey, which was conducted in May 2019 among economists belonging to the industry, banking and financial services sector,” it said.

The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been put at 3% for 2019-20. Industry and services sector are expected to grow by 6.9% and 8%, respectively, during the year. The outlook of participating economists on inflation remained moderate, the chamber said.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rate is projected at 3.1% in 2019-20, with a minimum and maximum range of 2.1% and 4%, respectively.

On the contrary, the survey found that retail inflation has a median forecast of 4% for 2019-20.

Participants also expressed that concerns remain on the external front with median current account deficit forecast pegged at 2.1% of GDP for 2019-20.

Median export growth is pegged at 4% in the financial year 2019-20. Imports, on the other hand, are forecast to grow at 3.8% in the same year.

Ficci further said that the majority of the participating economists believed that the US’ decision to end waiver granted to countries amid sanctions imposed on Iran is significant and will affect major oil-importing countries, including India.

This becomes a major concern at a time when international prices of crude oil have been on the rise due to other factors such as supply constraints being undertaken by OPEC countries, the survey said. 

Goldman Sachs Invests $250 Million and Opens New Bengaluru Office

Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment bank, today announced a major milestone in its continued growth in India with the opening of its new $250 million Bengaluru office. Located at Helios Business Park, 150 Outer Ring Road (“150 ORR”), the new office will serve as a global center supporting innovation at the intersections of technology and financial services.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon said: “The Bengaluru office has grown in size and technological sophistication to become an incubator of talent for our businesses around the world. The significant investment we have made to build this state-of-the- art workplace reflects the importance placed on the high-quality work done in India and our focus on hiring the best people.”

The Bengaluru operations started in 2004. Today it has employees over 5,000 professionals and is Goldman Sachs’ third largest office in the world by headcount and an integral part of the firm’s global activities, especially in the arena of technology where it has the second largest number of engineers after the firm’s New York headquarters.

Over the past five years, the Bengaluru office headcount has grown at approximately 24 percent CAGR (year-over-year growth rate). During the same period, Goldman Sachs has also increased campus hiring of full-time employees in India by 20 percent. In the past two years, engineering campus recruitment in India has increased by more than 60 percent (full-time hires and interns). In 2018, Goldman Sachs recruited from 89 Indian universities and post-graduate programs.

Gunjan Samtani, head of Goldman Sachs in Bengaluru, said: “Our Bengaluru office has become one of the firm’s global centers of innovation focused on the development and application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to help solve business problems for our worldwide network. The world-class facilities built into 150 ORR, which is a name that commemorates the firm’s 150th anniversary this year, will enable our people to further locally
innovate and collaborate with our offices around the world.”

In addition to developing successful, long-term domestic careers, the office has also been a global exporter of exceptional talent. For the past five years, over 700 Indian professionals, who started their careers at Goldman Sachs in Bengaluru, have relocated internationally to 30 Goldman Sachs offices around the world, including New York, London, Hong Kong and San Francisco, across global divisions and business units, including Securities, Investment Banking, Research and Technology.


In 2014, Goldman Sachs first broke ground for the construction of the new Bengaluru office. Reflecting the firm’s broader commitment to sustainability, 150 ORR has been designed to achieve LEED Platinum i and WELL Gold certifications ii. It is one of the largest commercial office buildings in India to achieve such high ratings.

Designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, who also designed Goldman Sachs’ global headquarters 200 West in New York, the new Bengaluru office has 1.2 million square feet of building area housed within three 10 story towers connected at the ground level and a capacity for approximately 7,300 employees. 150 ORR features world-class health, fitness and childcare facilities adjacent to 2.5 acres of landscaped outdoor parks and courtyards with over 400 trees.

In 2018, Goldman Sachs Bengaluru was named to LinkedIn’s “Top 25 Companies: Where India Wants to Work Now” list and the “100 Best Companies for Women in India” list by Working Mother & AVTAR.

Baby Cleanne Papillon is Perhaps the 3rd Miracle Baby in the World with a Shared Heart

Team of doctors at Narayana Health City performed the world’s first PDA stenting as well as region’s first thoracopagus separation surgery and saved the life of baby Cleanne Papillon. Hailing from Mauritius, Baby Cleanne Papillon was one of the conjoined twins who had a shared heart with her sister.

Born to Mrs. and Mr. Ian Papillon, the babies were thoracopagus twins. Generally in thoracopagus twins the bodies are joined from the neck to the upper abdomen, however, in this case their heart were also joined. Instead of four chambers for each, together, they had seven chambers. As their survival required expert care, the Mauritian health department reached out to hospitals abroad. However, as it was a complex case with negligible chances for survival, many of the hospitals in Europe and other Asian countries were not open to consider the case. Narayana Health City stood up as a Good Samaritan and took up this challenging case owing to their vast experience in handling complex pediatric cases.

As the children shared a heart and were not in a position to even breathe, they were supported by hand pumps for oxygen through the journey. As soon as they arrived, the multi-disciplinary team under the aegis of Dr. Ashley D’Cruz, Director & Sr. Consultant Pediatric Surgeon & Urologist, Dr Sanjay Rao, Sr consultant – Paediatric Surgery and Organ Tranplant, Dr. Shreesha Shankar Maiya, Consultant – Paediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology, Dr. Riyan Shetty, Consultant Critical Care Services & Head of Extracorporeal Life Support, Dr Ganesh Sambandamoorthy, Consultant – Anaesthesia & Critical Care and Dr. Harini Sreedharan, Consultant Neonatology, did a thorough examination of the babies. Considering the babies had a shared heart and survival chances were bleak, multiple specialties had to deliberate to find a way to save at least one of them. With the parents consent the team of doctors started the treatment. The doctors put them on intensive care. The intensive care team under the leadership of Dr. Riyan Shetty and Dr Ganesh Sambandamoorthy ensured the babies were stabilized faster. Once they were stabilized, PDA stenting was performed to improve the condition of the heart.

Elaborating about PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) stenting, Dr. Shreesha Shankar Maiya, Consultant – Paediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology said, “Open surgery was not a choice in this case as the children were conjoined from the thorax region. Further, their heart was fused and the chambers were merged making their case a complex and unsuitable one for any surgical treatment. PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) stenting is interventional procedure wherein a stent is placed in the PDA and the blood flow from the heart is maintained. The intervention was successful and they were oxygenated well.”

While the intervention was successful, as staying together will affect both the lives, the doctors advised separation surgery. Though the babies were twins, one of them suffered from non correctable congenital anomalies. In fact, the unhealthy child was becoming more like a burden on the healthy baby and hence the parents along with the doctors chose to support the healthy child. They separated the babies.  The tissues of sacrificed baby were used to reconstruct the torso of surviving twin.

Elaborating about the case, Dr. Ashley D’ Cruz said, “The survival rate in conjoined twins are minimal. In fact, the survival ratio of siamese twins with fused heart is even low. The child is the ‘3rd Miracle Baby’ in the world who has survived a Thoracopagus separation surgery.”

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Ian Papillon, father of the patient said, “When we got to know that we are expecting twins, we were very excited. After the delivery when we were informed that our daughters were conjoined and were sharing a single heart we were shattered. We thought we will lose both of them. Today, we have at least one of our daughters with us only because of the doctors at Narayana Health and I am extremely thankful to them for that. We are also grateful to our government for funding my children’s visit and their treatment. While I am taking back one daughter, however for me she is mirroring for her sister as one.”

Baby Papillon has responded well to the intervention and is in a position to return to her homeland. Equipped with a team of multi disciplinary experts Narayana Health City has become one of the most sought after hospital to treat conjoined twins. The surgery makes Narayana Health City one of the few hospitals in the world to have successfully completed and saved 4 sets of conjoined twins and 1 case of parasitic twinning apart from this case.

GOJEK Celebrates 10 Million Trips in Singapore and Introduces ‘Driver Milestones’ Programme

 

Ride-hailing platform GOJEK today announced that it has hit the milestone of 10 million completed trips in Singapore. This announcement coincides with the Indonesia-based company celebrating six months of operations in Singapore, after officially launching its ride-hailing service on November 29, 2018.

In line with 10 million trips, GOJEK is launching ‘Driver Milestones’, a rewards programme for its Singapore driver-partners to thank them for their continued support and professional service. Drivers who have completed 1,000, 2,500 and 5,000 trips since GOJEK’s launch in Singapore, will soon be recognised with enhanced benefits and decals that mark their trip milestones.

Raditya Wibowo, GOJEK’s Global Head of Transport, commented: “I am immensely proud of the dedication and passion that our Singapore team has shown since we started operations here. Following our launch in Singapore, response from the driver community has been extremely positive, with tens of thousands of driver-partners signing up and achieving their milestones, and many new driver-partners coming on board our platform every day. Even so, we are not stopping now and we remain focused on enhancing our product to meet the everyday needs of Singaporeans.”

Lien Choong Luen, General Manager of GOJEK Singapore, added: “This feat of 10 million

completed trips would not have been possible without the support of all of you: our loyal driver-partners, passionate riders, and everyone in the GOJEK Singapore team. With this milestone, we have taken a solid first step in bringing choice back to riders and drivers, and created a great, sustainable ride-hailing product. Our entry has also spurred competition in the market, and most importantly, greater innovation and value for users.”

Following its launch into the Singapore market, GOJEK has also been continuously enhancing its offering by using feedback submitted by users. “Number masking” was recently implemented on the platform to improve privacy for both its riders and driver-partners, and GOJEK enhanced its newly-launched GoalBetter driver benefits programme by adding a partnership with Singtel that offers mobile data savings to its driver-partners.