ACT Fibernet Upgrades Internet Broadband Speed and Data Limit to Facilitate Work from Home for Customers Amidst Virus Outbreak

ACT Fibernet, one of India’s largest wired ISPs (Internet Service Provider), today announced the roll out of its upgraded media streaming device – ACT Stream TV 4K to all its today announced its unique initiative to offer additional speed and data to facilitate seamless work from home experience for customers recognizing the emergence of the fatal virus pandemic in India.

Current situation requires employees at large to continue their operations from the confines of their houses, ACT will be turbo charging internet connections to 300 Mpbs speed and provide 300GB additional data, to encourage customers to continue work from home without any interruptions and limitations.

Under this plan, customers will be able to receive turbo speed boost for INR 1300 and additional data boost for INR 600. Customers can avail this plan through the app, after which their internet speed will be increased, and the additional data will be added within 24 hours which will be valid till 31st March 2020.

Commenting on the plan, xxx says “With the emergence of the new threat, individuals have been advised to work from home to reduce exposure and ensure that the virus does not spread further. As a company, we are encouraging this practice and we would like to do our part in facilitating and ensuring that our customers do not face any problems while taking up their work from home. This initiative is not only a channel to augment speed and data usage, but also a means for people to stay connected and work without any inconvenience”.

ACT Fibernet will be providing this performance boost for all customers who have higher end routers to access uninterrupted and unlimited high-speed internet and data for their work needs.

Ashok Leyland Delivers Modular Platform Vehicles with BS VI Technology in Bengaluru

Ashok Leyland, flagship company of the Hinduja Group and India’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, today delivered the first batch of vehicles built on its new modular platform with i-Gen6 BSVI technology to its customers at Bengaluru. The modular platform is first of its kind in the Indian CV industry with multiple options of axle configuration, loading spans, cabins, suspensions, drivetrains on a single platform for range of Trucks, Tippers and Tractors.  This helps customers to configure vehicles based on their application and business needs.

The Modular platform will enable customisation of the product which in turn will deliver better operational economics to its customers. The company has also worked on providing improved safety and comfort in the product. The aggregates have also been improved in this platform which will ensure higher reliability and durability. These vehicles are supported by next Gen i-alert fleet management system with remote diagnostics.

Mr. Anuj Kathuria, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland, said, “We are excited to introduce the innovative modular platform, which will help our customers to improve Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) including best in class operation and maintenance cost. The modular range can be customised to individual customer’s needs - load, terrain, application and operational requirements. We are introducing these vehicles much before the launch to establish the product superiority and enable the customer to get the benefits of higher performance and productivity.”

Earlier this year Ashok Leyland seeded the first batch of BS-VI compliant trucks to its customers in the Delhi-NCR region. The company has consistently relied on its in-house R&D talent and indigenous technology for leading innovations in the industry. In order to meet the BS-VI emission standard, the company has developed the innovative iGen6 technology that will ensure higher operating profits for customers.

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. “