IIMB, MSDE Welcome First Cohort of 74 Students to the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Program on March 8

The Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme, launched by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), with support from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, welcomed the first batch consisting of 74 students, in an orientation ceremony at IIMB on March 08, 2020. The first cohort comprises 44 per cent women candidates.

Programme Director Arnab Mukherji, faculty from the Public Policy  area at IIM Bangalore, explained: “The MGNF programme helps the Fellows to discover growth paths and associated skill development needs at the district level that can change the development journey in many parts of the country. At one level, it focuses on the district as the unit of economy activity and inverts the top-down process endemic to public policy. At another, it seeks to build bridges to enable go-to-market strategies and create value chains and skill growth pathways that start from the district and link to domestic and international markets. We hope the cohort will uncover a constellation of culturally appropriate pathways for sustainable incomes by creating inclusive skilling ecosystems.”

In his plenary address, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, said: “It is very encouraging  to see that IIMB has a clear and impact-oriented design and structure for the MGNF programme with an emphasis on field work.”

Reiterating his government’s commitment to skill development training, he observed that the State Skill Development Missions, especially those in Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir, had launched their own initiatives in villages towards this end. “Unless we involve districts, which are the engines of growth in our economy, in the skill development drive, we cannot hope to achieve our goal of making India the skill capital of the world,” he said.

The minister recalled an incident from his days at Benares Hindu University when as general secretary of the student union, in 1977, he was instrumental in getting the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai to sanction Rs 22 lakh to BHU, from which all first-class MA, MSc and MCom students of BHU  would get a fellowship of Rs 300  -- “a princely sum in those days, especially because until then only students of medicine and engineering got financial support”.

He lauded the city of Bengaluru for providing a pipeline of talent to the country and the world, be it in the domains of science, technology, engineering, industry or entrepreneurship.

In his inaugural address, Pravin Kumar (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India, observed that skilling of the youth is a key priority of the government so that the growing economy is not starved of manpower. “Skilling had become a supply-driven system. We are making it demand-driven with a focus on districts.”  He said he hoped to extend the MGNF programme to all districts in the country. “It is significant to launch the MGNF programme on International Women’s Day as the programme has 44 per cent women candidates,” he added.

Juthika Patankar (IAS), Additional Secretary, MSDE, Govt. of India, said she was delighted to welcome the 74 Fellows, selected after a rigorous process, to the MGNF programme. “Skill training has to encompass all sectors of the economy and all sections of society. The MGNF programme, we hope, will give everyone, in the districts and at the grassroots, an equal and good chance to earn a livelihood. MSDE is happy to partner with one of the most prestigious institutes in the country – IIM Bangalore. IIMB has given the idea of this fellowship, a definite form and shape. The focus, we hope, will be in providing skill training services required in villages for the development of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry etc.”

Dr. S. Selva Kumar, Principal Secretary, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods, Govt. of Karnataka, said he looked forward to the MGNF Fellows filling the skill gap training in the country. He said his department was keen on augmenting need-based skill training by also working with private firms and engineering colleges in the state. “Verticals in our department in the districts work in isolation. They need convergence. The MGNF Fellows could help in addressing this gap.”

Jayasudha Thiagarajan, Chief Operating Officer, SANKALP Cell, National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI). Ms Thiagrajan informed the Fellows about MGNF IT portal in a special session at the event. NIMI is the implementation partner for MGNF and will play a critical role in ensuring that the entire programme is successful, particularly the district module of the programme.

In his vote of thanks, Programme Director Sankarshan Basu, Professor of Finance & Accounting at IIM Bangalore, said: “MGNF looks to redefine the model of ideating about the developmental process by truly decentralizing the whole concept. Instead of a top-down approach, it seeks to create a bottom-up approach and can significantly help in the development landscape of the country as specific requirements will be highlighted. In some sense, it is an attempt o indigenize the ‘market town’ model of development in medieval Europe, suitably adapted to the current Indian ecosystem.”

Earlier in the morning, Professor Gopal Naik, Dean, Faculty, IIM Bangalore, set the context for the launch of the MGNF.

IIM Bangalore launched the MGNF in collaboration with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India (GoI), and State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs). The institute has undertaken this endeavour in support of the launch of Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Project.

MGNF, a two-year academic programme, is a unique opportunity for young, dynamic individuals to contribute to enhancing skill development and promote rural employment at the district level. It aims to strengthen the district-level skill ecosystem for decentralized skill development governance. It will provide academic inputs and a field immersion component that jointly seeks to raise economic output and promote livelihood in rural areas.

The inaugural cohort of MGNF was selected through a gruelling process comprising written tests, personal interview and case analysis. MGNF Fellows were shortlisted from an eclectic mix of disciplines ranging from social sciences, business administration, law and engineering. These Fellows will be placed in 74 districts across the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Upon completion of these components, the Fellow will be awarded a Certificate.

As Programme Directors, Prof. Arnab Mukherji, from the Public Policy area, and Prof. Sankarshan Basu, from the Finance and Accounting area at IIMB, will oversee the execution of the MGNF programme.

CSS Corp wins Outsourcing Provider of the Year 2020 at Stevie Awards

CSS Corp, a new-age IT services and technology support company, today announced that it has won the Gold Stevie Award in the ‘Contact Center & Customer Service Outsourcing Provider of the Year 2020’ category at the 14th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The awards were presented to honorees during a gala banquet on Friday, February 28 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.

CSS Corp was awarded for emerging as the premier outsourcing services provider at the awards.

Over the last few years, CSS Corp has been investing heavily in enhancing its capabilities as an end-to-end managed CX services provider, leveraging best-of-breed technologies, and has become a strategic partner of choice for global brands with its business transformation-themed services. Leveraging new age technologies like AI, automation, analytics and augmented-reality, CSS Corp has transformed customer support from an effort-led to an intelligence-led ecosystem. Customers of CSS Corp have been realizing tangible outcomes through CSS Corp’s differentiated outcome-based and gain sharing models which have helped them in their transformation journey.

Speaking on the occasion, Manish Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, CSS Corp said, “Global outsourcing brands look for partners that can synergistically bring together best-in-class technology, operational and people expertise, and flexible business models, to drive outcomes for them. I believe over the past few years, CSS Corp has positioned itself as a leader in partnering with reputed organizations and driving outcome-focused CX transformation for them. We are extremely proud to win the Gold Stevie award as the world’s leading outsourcing service provider, while surpassing some of the industry’s biggest names at the awards. This award is a testament to our continued pursuit of service excellence driven by our values of customer centricity, deep tech innovation and spirit of partnership with our customers.”

CSS Corp’s presence as a global leader in providing exceptional customer service has grown over the past two decades. It has built a world-class delivery ecosystem through digitally-infused operations, and an award-winning talent development platform. The company drives B2C and B2B customer experience and technical support services. In the last 2 years, CSS Corp has emerged as the industry’s most awarded mid-tier global services company with over 35 international awards.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. More than 2,600 nominations from organizations in 48 nations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 180 professionals worldwide on seven specialized judging committees.

Orion Mall Aims High with a Special Woman's Day Festival

Orion Mall at Brigade Gateway concluded the first ever edition of Wempower, on 8th March, celebrated as International Women’s Day. Against the backdrop of rising crimes against women, with statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau India, reporting an increase in the rates, escalating 6.4% during 2012. Wempower sought to address a multitude of issues pertinent to modern day feminism, such as women’s safety, single parenting, moral policing, female stereotypes and reclaiming individual identity.

With Women’s Day mostly reduced to mere tokenism, amidst a bevy of discount vouchers and bumper sales, Wempower – the women’s day festival aimed to reflect on celebrating acts of grit and courage by real life trailblazers from diverse domains who have dared to challenge and change the script and transform feminism into a more gender neutral and inclusively sustainable dialogue.

Acclaimed journalist, columnist on gender and sexuality and best-selling, feminist author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu was the curator of this festival. ‘The game changer in this festival were real life crusaders who walked their talk and not just so-called, Page three celebrities who are on magazine covers. The thrust of Wempower lay on its strong speakers. Explosive themes. Inspiring performances. And our belief that the fight of feminism is a human rights struggle,’ added Kundu.

The festival begun with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp ceremony accompanied by rousing key note speeches by Roopa D, the first lady Kannadiga IPS officer, currently serving as Inspector General of Police in Bengaluru, All India Mahila Congress, General-Secretary, celebrated journalist and transgender and child rights activist, Apsara Reddy and Sruthi Hariharan, leading Kannada film actress and producer, also the proud recipient of several accolades, including, the Karnataka State Film Award, three Filmfare Awards (South), a SIIMA award, and, a special mention at the 66th National film awards for her performance in Nathicharami.

Joining them on stage was Pavitra Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade Group. “From the very onset, we had a concrete vision of what we wanted this festival to be. The focus was placed on breaking the mould and scripting a different narrative. Conversations included all genders to bring about quantitative as well as qualitative changes and thought leadership. Using our influence as a leading brand that supports and values our female employees, we aspired that this festival become a platform and a convergence point for those who believe in equality, fairness and kindness for all,” added Shankar.

This was followed by an evocative dance performance by STEM (Space.Time.Energy. Movement) Dance Kampni, the performing wing of Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, helmed by Indian classical, contemporary dancer and choreographer, Madhu Nataraj.

The event featured three, riveting panel discussions based on the collective themes of women empowerment, gender diversity and equality. The first of which explored burning topics, such as, women’s safety, sexual abuse, moral policing, gender politics and patriarchy.

The panel comprised former civil servant, well-known advocate and social activist, Abha Singh, political satirist and leading stand-up comedian, Sanjay Rajoura, Sandhya Menon, the country’s top journalists, who was one of the first and most forceful voices of the #MeToo campaign, whose Twitter handle @TheRestlessQuil remains the go-to place for everything related to the #MeToo movement in India and Pragya Prasun Singh, acid attack survivor turned activist and social worker who’s has been fighting for providing relief and rehabilitation to her fellow acid attack and burn survivors from past 6 years now. Pragya is also the founder and Secretary of ‘Atijeevan Foundation,’ an NGO that apart from facilitating free of cost surgeries, also provides avenues for income generation to several acid Attack and burn survivors by training them to create handicraft products.

The session was moderated by Shreya Krishnan.

Focussing on the inspiring lives of four dynamic mothers who defy gender norms and stereotypes associated with motherhood, the second session, featured celebrated disability activist, Jeeja Ghosh Nag, single mother, writer, marketing maverick and solopreneur, Supriya Jain, general physician and adopted parent, Dr. Aloma Lobo and Aditya Tiwari, India’s youngest single father to raise a boy with Down’s Syndrome.

The session was moderated by Dipika Trehan.

This was followed by a twenty minute stand up comedy act by writer and disability rights activist, Pune-based, Sweta Mantrii who took to stand-up to have a conversation about her disability and the issues that come with it. Born with spinal bifida, Mantrii now finds people calling her “inspirational”.

The final panel was centred on why women are traditionally stereotyped according to the roles they are cast into, thanks to their limited gender identity, what it takes to shatter convention and why the tightrope of being a woman means taking on and tackling patriarchy, head on. Featuring Anita Ratnam, Indian classical, contemporary dancer, choreographer & arts entrepreneur, Vandana Suri, investment banker turned founder, Taxshe, and, Reeth Abraham, celebrated athlete from Bengaluru, India and former Asian medallist in long jump and 100 meters hurdles and a former national champion in heptathlon. Reeth won the Arjuna Award in 1997 and the Rajyotsava Award in 1983.

The session was moderated by Jacintha Jayachandran.

Setting an example in the space of Women’s Day celebrations, Wempower in its debut edition paved the way for diverse conversations around gender and building an inclusive society, built on the foundations of empathy, compassion and an all-round awareness.

Binge on Super Content Over the Holi Weekend on Airtel Xstream

Highlights

* Airtel customers can choose from 10,000+ Indian and global movies, shows as part of their exclusive Thanks benefits
* Enjoy your favorite digital content over Smartphone, TV or PC only with Airtel Xstream     

This year’s Holi celebrations bring the added benefit of an extended weekend and Airtel customers can make the most of it with some super digital entertainment on Airtel Xstream.

Airtel Xstream, which is one of its kind converged entertainment platform, offers access to over 10,000 movies, shows and documentaries along with LIVE TV. This massive catalogue that includes content in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and even Bhojpuri is available to Airtel Thanks customers for FREE as part of their Platinum, Gold and Silver benefits.

Airtel customers can access this exciting content on any screen if their choice:

Stream or Download over Smartphone/Tablet on the go with Airtel Xstream app
At home enjoy it on large screen TV with Airtel Xstream Hybrid STB and Smart Stick
Even get it on your PC by logging into airtelxstream.com

Some of the latest movies and shows to binge on Airtel Xstream:

Knives Out - A modern whodunit, the film follows a family gathering gone awry, after the family patriarch's death leads a master detective to investigate. Knives Out is an American black comedy mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman.

Wonder Woman - When a pilot crashes and tells of the conflict in the outside world, Diana the princess of the Amazons leaves her home to fight a war; convinced that she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside men she discovers her full powers and true destiny.

The Coronavirus Epidemic: The coronavirus disease is spreading at frightening speeds from Wuhan, China, to the rest of the world. How did this virus develop, and how close are we to finding an effective vaccine?

Karenjit Kaur - The series captures the journey of former pornstar-turned-actor Sunny Leone, born as Karenjit Kaur in a middle-class Sikh family, and her makeover from being an innocent girl to an adult film actress and eventually a Bollywood star. The ten-episode biopic is available in multiple languages, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi

SkyFire- Skyfire, starring Prateik Babbar, Sonal Chauhan, Jisshu Sengupta, Jatin Goswami and Shtaf Figar, is about a boy from slum who disappears and his search leads a historian and a journalist to strange and seemingly unrelated incidents, including warmings of natural calamities. This one is India’s first-of-its kind sci-fi thriller series.

Once Upon a Crime- A series starring the Rajat Kapoor, a gifted screenwriter, film-maker, theatre director and actor, and Paayel Sarkar; is about the darkness of a writer’s creations turning into reality. Can the past come alive or is it all just imagination?

So what are you waiting for? Get Airtel Xstream app now to get started.  

Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar Unveils Post Pregnancy Fitness Plans on International Women's Day

Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar in an endeavour to offer post pregnancy fitness regime unveiled a unique “Fitness Plan” for new moms on account of “World International Women’s Day.”

The special package was unveiled by Dr. Rohini Katoch Sepat, IPS, DCP, South Division Bengaluru in the presence of Ms. Shobha Raghavan, COO, Sahaas Zero waste and Ms. Gayathri Gopalkrishnan, President JP Nagar Apartment Association and Medical Director of Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar.

Several informative programme was held during the event to celebrate the spirit of womanhood to celebrate International Woman’s Day. Talk on women safety, gender equality and quiz competition was organised.

Dr. Rohini Katoch Sepat, IPS, DCP – South Division, Bengaluru City said, “Maintaining fitness  post pregnancy is important as it is connected to a lot of health benefits, including prevention of post-delivery depression,  restoring muscle strength and even boosting energy levels. However, most of the women tend to neglect fitness during post pregnancy. I am extremely glad that Manipal Hospital Jaynagar has taken this initiative on International Women’s Day to create awareness on this and  breaking stereotypes of the society.”

Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Mohan Hariharan, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar said, “Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar is always at the forefront when it comes to creating awareness on public issues. Pregnancy is a very important phase in woman’s life and therefore to have fitness and healthy lifestyle is extremely important. Women are the backbone of our families and it is our duty to keep them fit both mentally and physically. I thanks all the chief guests for lending their support on this special initiative. “

Stop Child Marriages: CRY Organizes a Wedding Ceremony in B'lore

Child Rights and You (CRY) a leading ‘rights’ based organization working in the domain of child rights for the last 40 years organized a unique campaign to sensitize the netizens of Bangalore on the prevalence of child marriage. The event called ‘Not Yet’ saw a ceremonial wedding procession where people were asked to attend the marriage of a young girl representing the truth of 653131 married girl child in the state of Karnataka.

The latest Census figure shows the percentage of married children increase steeply with increasing age, and the increase is much more for girls than boys. At the age of 15 only 2.2% of the married population are boys while 8.6% are girls; this for the boys in the age of 18 becomes 3.6% and for girls is 27.45 % indicating the steep rise. Today’s girls are tomorrow’s women. Young girls who get married at an early age face several health related problems and lie at a greater risk of infant and maternal mortality.

The event marked by the presence of around 20 CRY volunteers and staff dressed up as attendees of a wedding procession escorted a Palki signifying a bride sitting in it. Mock invitations were given out asking people to join the ceremony. The invitation contained information on child marriage sensitizing people on the ground reality and also provided information on how common people can support the cause.

“The surprise factor was very impactful. It reminds us of the sad truth about the society that we don’t give importance to. The manner in which the complexity of the issue was sensitized to us motivated us to be part of CRY’s effort in its work towards to bring a sustained change in the lives of children,” said one of the onlookers, Arkadeb Ghosh, working in an analytical firm.

“Through this event we wanted to inform the general public and draw their attention to some of the serious threats the girls of our country are facing. The importance of school for a girl child is much more than education as being there for the prescribed period also and averts them from instances of child marriage and child labor,” said Karthik Narayanan, Regional Director CRY (South).

CRY:
Child Rights and You is an Indian NGO that believes in every child’s right to a childhood - to live, learn, grow and play. For 4 decades, CRY and its 850 initiatives have worked with parents and communities to ensure Lasting Change in the lives of more than 2,000,000 underprivileged children, across 23 states in India. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employees Come Together to Create a Better Tomorrow for the Differently Abled

Highlights

* Marking Toyota’s 12th ICARE initiative, TKM collaborates with NGO – ‘Sandesh’ to spread the message of love and equality for all human beings
* As part of the ICARE initiative, over 100 TKM employees (ICARE Champions) volunteer to create products for differently abled children from Sandesh
* Toyota’s ICARE intervention engages its employees to contribute to a bigger social cause in the fields of Health, Road safety, Education and Environment

Continuing its relentless efforts to motivate and encourage employees to partake in social causes, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, today, conducted its 12th ICARE activity in Bangalore, spreading the message of love and equality for all human beings. This time around, TKM associated with NGO – ‘Sandesh’ that works for the differently abled. More than 100 ICARE Champions (TKM employees) came together to build an inventory of products to raise funds for the NGO, benefitting the differently abled children associated with Sandesh.

As part of this activity, TKM volunteers participated in a workshop making products including: lampshades, books, photo frames, paper Mache bowls, clay pots, paper bags and many more under the guidance of the differently abled children from the NGO. It acted as a platform for the volunteers to engage with the children from Sandesh, bringing a smile to their faces and uplifting their spirits. This activity also helped TKM volunteers to empower the differently abled children, and celebrate the essential togetherness of humanity. Additionally, employees were also sensitized in dealing with differently abled children.

‘ICARE’– an employee voluntary initiative, is an effort aligned with the company’s commitment to sustained community development. This drive actively involves the employees and strives to enhance their understanding on various societal issues, contributing to address vital needs within TKM’s CSR framework. Since its launch in 2017, ICARE has grown manifold and managed to create a large impact in the society. The volunteers have addressed various societal issues under thematic areas like Education, Environment, Road Safety, and Health thereby impacting lives. Currently, around 700 employees have been registered under TKM’s ICARE initiative.

A Prasad Kumar, ICARE Champion, participating in the cause said, “I am very happy to participate in this activity as it gives me an opportunity for driving the message of equality for all and spreading love and joy in the lives of the differently abled children from Sandesh. I am thankful to TKM for creating a platform for its employees to come together and make a difference in the community. Being a part of the ICARE initiatives has always motivated us to serve the community and work towards the betterment of the society. Such activities not only benefit the society but also help us become better human beings. I am delighted to spend my time to make such wonderful impact in the lives of the needy people.”

Sharing his thoughts on the activity, Mr. Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “At Toyota, we have always believed in putting our collaborative efforts to bring about a positive change in the society and achieve long-term sustainability. Through ICARE, we inspire our employees to get actively involved in noble causes and empower them to be the change creators in the society, helping them grow as a responsible citizen. For this activity, we have collaborated with NGO – Sandesh, to engage with the differently abled children, create a wholesome environment for them, and leave a positive impact on their overall growth.”

“We are happy to see the active participation of our employees as ‘ICARE Champions’ in each of the ICARE activity. This platform helps the bonding amongst the Toyota family and also enables employees to understand the company’s commitment towards enriching lives of communities. We will continue to focus our efforts on issues that need our intervention and strive to make a key contribution to the society”, he added.

Established in 2008, Sandesh has been working with differently abled children, providing daycare centers, vocational training and skill development training for them. Since its inception, Sandesh has reached out to more than 200 families. Each of them has received hope and courage to face the life with dignity and smile.

Under ICARE, Toyota employees have earlier restored a Government School, facilitated specialized health camps, conducted recreational day with orphan children, initiated eco-campaign amongst school children through eco-painting of school premises, built playground with recycled material, installed road safety structures for smooth traffic flow, took part in the restoration and maintenance of Bannerghatta National Park and extended support to families affected by cyclone in Odisha.

Toyota will further continue its various CSR interventions from a long term development perspective of socio-economic stature of the society, touching many more people’s lives to make a difference in each one’s well-being.