The Private Industry is Also Doing its Bit to Help India Fight the COVID-19 Situation!

During this COVID-19 pandemic when the entire world is facing serious crisis and our country India is also on the verge of the same, Government of India in support of the 1.3 billion population is taking serious measures to curtail the deadly virus. While the Government yesterday announced a package of 15,000 crore rupees to fight the pandemic, private organisations such as Reliance and Vedanta have also stood up to help India fight the situation.

Meanwhile the budding private sector of India is also trying to contribute to the community by doing it’s bit.

Hong Kong based logistic gaint; Lalamove is currently planning to support the delivery of essentials in the cities that they operate in and are currently under lockdown. They have reached out to various businesses involved in food, groceries, pharmacies, etc., offering their support in helping them deliver their goods to the people in need.

Another tech-based logistics company 72 Networks has availed a Corona Specific Medical Insurance policy for all our employees in the event of any casualty to cover their financial burden. In case of any casualty (Corona specific), the medical insurance company will bear the total cost of the test & treatment and a payment of 1000 Rs will be given to the infected person during his time of quarantine on a daily basis so that he can meet his daily requirements (as a part of policy).

Apart from the Logistics sector; Edtech platforms like Edubrisk are also rising up to the occasion to help solve the educational crisis in the country. They are running free learning sessions for teachers/institutions so that they can take online classes for their students. Also, they are providing free demo entries for students who need to finish their courses on their platform.

Another reputed institute in the country for skilled-based courses i.e The Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts is taking classes on Zoom for their students and are also doing a Insta Live/Facebook Live session daily for the normal crowd and are teaching them home friendly recipes so that they are occupied in this time of lockdown. These recipes are taught by world renowned and award winning chefs.

The dating/gaming industry is also not far behind as during this time of lockdown, dating apps like Gleeden are providing alternatives for individuals to spend their time at home doing something that they find pleasurable. The platform has registered a hike of over 70% on its platform during this period. The gaming platforms are also not far behind and are giving lucrative offers to woo the customers. Falling the suit, Fantasy & Online gaming platforms like the Baazi Games have also witnessed a hike of 8-10% on its online poker platform; PokerBaazi. These platforms are proving to be very handy in order to divert the attention of the masses locked at their homes.

Another important sector Fintech; whose importance is only going to increase with the coming time as due to the lockdown less and less people will venture out of their homes and the facility to avail handy loans from your homes or through your mobile phones is going to garner traffic soon. Shubh Loans; a fintech lending company (NBFC) is also fully prepared for the future challenges and is more than willing it play its bit in supporting the Government of India and its people. They are also encouraging their employees to work & stay at home and support the Government’s initiative fully. Apart from this they have also provided comprehensive medical insurance plans that include coverage for parents which will prove to be extremely valuable at times like these.

vHealth by Aetna Begins 30 Days Free Virtual Doctor Consultantion During Covid-19 Pandemic for General Public

People willing to do a virtual doctor consultation can call 1800 103 7093 (toll-free) to speak to a vHealth expert or give a missed call at 90290 96186 for online registration

vHealth by Aetna (www.vHealth.io) has announced a special initiative of providing free access to its virtual doctor consultation service, until 15th April, to help ensure people haveaccess to health care during the COVID-19 outbreak. vHealth provides professional and confidential medical consultationsby telephone and video for people across the country.

The announcement comes at a time when governments and healthcare authorities, around the globe, are recommending social distancing, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Without having to travel to a clinic or hospital, people can speak to a doctor about any aspect of their health, such as the management of chronic conditions, treatment of minor illnesses, advice on alternate treatment options, interpretation of diagnostic reports and guidance on staying healthy.

The service will not only help people who are concerned about visiting a hospital or a clinic at the moment, but it will also help the elderly and patients with ongoing health conditions to manage their health needs from home, thereby potentially reducing the risk  of catching infections

The free vHealth virtual doctor consultation service will be available for 30 days from the date of registration. People who register for the service can also utilise the benefit for up to four family members. To register for a virtual health consultation call the toll-free number 1800 103 7093 or give a missed call at 9029096186 to register online. The medical consultation service is available from Monday to Saturday from 8AM to 8PM, except national holidays.

Talking about the initiative, Dr Sneh Khemka, President of Population Health, Aetna Internationalcommented, “As the nation’s top leaders are urging people to stay at home and even avoid going to the hospitals unless in an extreme emergency, virtual consultation can be a single, trusted point of contact, for all their medical concernsfor many in the country. As a primary health care service provider, we feel there is a need for us to step up and support the community at large.”

vHealth by Aetna, India offers a broad suite of health services and solutions that is focused on preventative and primary care to behavioural health and wellness counselling. Its ecosystem includes a sizable team of in-house physicians and dieticians in addition to a physical provider network for hospitals, diagnostics, pathology, dental and pharmacies. Currently, vHealth is serving over 3million members in India and has a Net Promoter score of +65.

JK Tyre's Leadership Team Takes Voluntary Pay-Cut Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

JK Tyre, pioneers of Radial technology in India, has diversified and multinational presence.

Tyre Industry has been passing through difficult times owing to unprecedented slow down and disruption in supply chain. This has been aggravated by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. It is anticipated that the situation may worsen further.

Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, “Presently we are witnessing unprecedented difficult times, with both sales and profitability getting impacted due to Corona virus. The TEAM JK TYRE is putting together its might to emerge as winners in this challenging situation. In response and acting in a show of solidarity in this critical time, it has come forward for a reduction in their salaries.”

He further said, ”Chairman and Whole time Directors of JK Tyre have taken a voluntary cut in their salary of 25% and other senior management personnel have also taken a voluntary reduction in their salary by 15- 20%.   Pay cut also applies to its global operations.”

The company has also taken extensive steps to ensure safety and welfare of its employees and their families.

Organizations Should Follow a Five-Phase Approach for Resilient Business

A five-phase strategic and systematic approach to strengthen the resilience of organizations’ current business models is key to business continuity during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Companies tend to have traditional business continuity strategies and plans that focus on the continuity of the resources and processes but omit the business model,” said Daniel Sun, research vice president at Gartner. “However, the business model itself can be a threat to continuity of operations in external events, such as the global outbreak of COVID-19.”

CIOs can play a key role in the process of raising current business model resilience to ensure ongoing operations, since digital technologies and capabilities can influence every aspect of business models.

Phase 1 — Define the business model: Facing the contingency of COVID-19 outbreaks, companies should first focus on their core customers that are essential to their continuity of operations, and then refer to a process of defining their current business models by asking questions focused on their customers, value propositions, capabilities and financial models.

Although CIOs do not normally lead the process of defining business models, they should proactively engage with senior business leaders to run through 10 key questions regarding current business models. This is foundational for CIOs to actively participate in modifying current business models.

Phase 2 — Identify uncertainties: This step can be carried out through a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis, or by brainstorming. Given the wide range of uncertainties and threats, this step can benefit from a heterogeneous group of participants with diverse backgrounds and interests, particularly where IT is normally involved. Companies should focus on the risks that the uncertainty poses to the components of the business model.

“CIOs should participate in, or coordinate, the brainstorming sessions to identify any uncertainties from COVID-19 outbreaks,” said Mr. Sun. “CIOs can share some of IT’s potential uncertainties and threats, such as issues with IT infrastructure, applications and software systems.”

Phase 3 — Assess the impact: Multidisciplinary members should form a project team to assess, or even quantify, the impact of the identified uncertainties. CIOs can provide the potential impacts from an IT perspective.

Phase 4 — Design changes: At this point in the process, the emphasis is to develop tentative strategies rather than estimate their feasibility. Selecting and executing changes will follow in the next phase. CIOs and IT should leverage digital technologies and capabilities to facilitate the designed changes.

Phase 5 — Execute changes: The decision on which changes to execute is principally a decision for senior leadership teams. The strategies for changes defined in Phase 4 provide essential input for this decision process. Senior leadership teams should select the strategies they feel most compelling to implement, which is often based on both economic calculations and intuition.

“Once senior leadership teams select the business and IT change initiatives, CIOs should apply an agile approach in executing the initiatives. For example, they can form an agile (product) team of multidisciplinary team members, enabling the alignment between business and IT and ensuring delivery speed and quality,” said Mr. Sun. “In crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak, agility, speed and quality are crucial for enabling the continuity of operations.”

Gartner clients can learn more in the report “React to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak via Raising Business Model Resilience.” Additional analysis on the actions CIOs and IT leaders should take to remain resilient during coronavirus business disruptions is available in the Gartner webinar “How Your Business Can Respond to Coronavirus (COVID-19).” 

Learn more about how to lead organizations through the disruption of coronavirus in the Gartner coronavirus resource center, a collection of complimentary Gartner research and webinars to help organizations respond, manage and prepare for the rapid spread and global impact of COVID-19.

*Apart from exercise and meditation it is work that adds a meditative quality to our life, if we let it.

LISAA School of Design Resumes Classes in Google Meet

LISAA has been one of the first institutes to resume classes online. The goal is to not let the students' precious time be wasted.

"Today we are conducting the training sessions for teachers on how wto use 'Google Meet' to conduct classes," explains Avi Keswani, Founder & Director, LISAA School of Design

"Classes resume to normal from tomorrow, except that they will be held online," informs Avi.

How it works is a recording of the class is uploaded on Google Drive right after the class gets over. This is not only to maintain documentation but also to ensure that students who have failed to attend the class for some reason have access to the recording.

Students at home shall also be constructively engaged through this attempt instead of idling around/ worrying incessantly.

"Since we are uncertain when the normal functioning of the college shall resume, its imperative that we take an initiative to resume learning for students. This is the time to be self-conscientious and realise that excellent leadership lies in not doesnt looking at the govt for  support but also proactively taking measures to aid in whatever way we can," adds Avi

AT this point the goal of LISAA is to ensure that the students' academic year does not get wasted and that they are able to impart the learning outcomes they set out for at the onset of this semester.

"We are not sure how BCU exam dates or LISAA Jury dates shall be impacted but we are determined to perform to the best of our abilities," says a hopeful Avi


Importance of Staying Engaged with Work at this Time!!

*Working from home can be rather stressful at times.

* Sometimes the quarantine itself can lead to stress. As we self isolate ourselves, seeing the faces we are used to seeing regularly at work and in classes can destress us a lot. Hence  suggest using these connecting platforms to keep things moving at a normal pace.

* Also sharing each others calendars can help with organising  meetings accordingly.
* Extremely important to stay engaged especially at this time.

* In these stressful times, work can prove to be  something which not only keeps us engaged but gives us the fulfillment that one gets after a productive day!

Singapore Airlines will be Cutting 96% of the Capacity to End-April, Covid-19 Outbreak

Singapore Airlines (“SIA” or the “Company”) will be cutting 96% of the capacity that had been originally scheduled up to end-April, given the further tightening of border controls around the world over the last week to stem the Covid-19 outbreak.

This will result in the grounding of around 138 SIA and SilkAir aircraft, out of a total fleet of 147, amid the greatest challenge that the SIA Group has faced in its existence.

The Group’s low-cost unit Scoot will also suspend most of its network, resulting in the grounding of 47 of its fleet of 49 aircraft.

The SIA Group diversified its network and set up Scoot to spread its risks and cater to a wide range of passenger and market segments. However, without a domestic segment, the Group’s airlines become more vulnerable when international markets increasingly restrict the free movement of people or ban air travel altogether.

It is unclear when the SIA Group can begin to resume normal services, given the uncertainty as to when the stringent border controls will be lifted.

The resultant collapse in the demand for air travel has led to a significant decline in SIA’s passenger revenues.

The Company is actively taking steps to build up its liquidity, and to reduce capital expenditure and operating costs. As mentioned on 17 March 2020, SIA will continue to aggressively pursue all measures to address the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the Company. These include:

ongoing discussions with aircraft manufacturers to defer upcoming aircraft deliveries. If agreed, this will consequently defer payment for those aircraft deliveries;

salary cuts for the SIA Group’s management with the Company’s Directors also agreeing to a cut in their fees, and a voluntary no-pay leave scheme up to certain management positions. Given the worsening situation, the unions have been engaged on the additional cost-cutting measures that are needed and more steps will be taken imminently; and

over the last few days, the SIA Group has drawn on its lines of credits to meet its immediate cash flow requirements. The SIA Group is engaging in discussions with several financial institutions for its future funding requirements.

The Company continues to explore measures to shore up its liquidity during this unprecedented disruption to global air travel. The Company will release further details when such measures have been firmed up.

Edelweiss General Insurance Health Policy Covers “Treatment For COVID-19”

The Coronavirus infection has impacted thousands of people worldwide. For those impacted, the stress goes beyond health and involves high medical costs, loss of pay (in some case) and associated financial stress.

It is important for people to be aware that if they have a regular health Insurance plan from any insurer paying for medical costs either through a cashless facility or reimbursement, all illnesses including Covid-19 are covered.

Further in view of serious challenges by this pandemic for customers, Edelweiss General Insurance has taken the following steps for its customers:

1.    As mentioned above, the Edelweiss Health Insurance policy covers COVID-19. However, we have decided to cover hospitalization for not only those who have a confirmed diagnosis but also those who have been quarantined in specific facilities identified by the government. The coverage amount is up to the sum insured under the policy

2.    Further for quarantined patients, the health policy ensures coverage for the entire period of quarantine with upto 100% of the claim amount being paid against quarantine and detection charges

In case any patient is in a remote location and is unable to reach the hospital during the quarantine period, Edelweiss Health Insurance will support domiciliary hospitalisation for the patient. Patients can visit any nearby hospital for immediate treatment and expenses will be reimbursed. In case of cashless benefits, patients are requested to visit EGI’s Network hospital with their TPA card for any medical assistance
To be able to support customers in this extraordinary situation, EGI has sought and received approval from IRDAI, allowing waiver of the initial waiting period of 30 days post policy inception, for the first time, for COVID-19 virus coverage. This approval will be applicable, both for Edelweiss Health Insurance and Edelweiss Group Health Insurance policies, till such time that the virus is declared as abated by the Government and/ or WHO.

Edelweiss General insurance also has an innovative and modular product structure with our Group Total Protect, under which we can customize solutions to provide cover against a wide range of illnesses including pandemics and vector borne diseases, at affordable costs. Any employer or other existing groups can customize this for their employees, customers or members using the following features:

Selection of Sum Insured
Reimbursement of costs (upto the sum insured) incurred in India or worldwide (depending on the cover selected) towards diagnostic testing, pharmacy and consultation for the illnesses including expenses incurred towards Corona virus treatments
Fixed amount of Hospital Daily Cash which could be used to cover their expenses from day one up to a maximum of 30 days.

In the context of Covid-19, this policy can take care of hospitalization expenses of the insured along with incidental expenses which are not usually covered under a policy. And all this coverage comes at a very affordable cost. This product is a great way for small businesses and start-ups to provide the much-needed basic accident and health cover to their employees.

A benefit package providing Rs. 25,000/- of Accident cover, Rs. 2000 per day of hospitalization up to a maximum of 15 days and out-patient expenses of Rs. 10,000/- can be purchased anywhere between Rs.50/- and Rs.100/- per person per year. The benefits and amounts can be customized to the specific needs of the group.

Speaking on the development, Shanai Ghosh, CEO, Edelweiss General Insurance, said, “I urge people to be aware of risks and stay safe in this current environment. Hygiene and social distancing are first lines of defence for everybody to safeguard themselves from COVID-19. In an unfortunate situation of being detected and testing positive, or suspected and quarantined in a facility specified by the government, we have ensured that at least the cost burden is eased for our customers. And with our Group Total Protect policy, we can provide basic accident and health cover for a variety of infectious diseases including Coronavirus at an affordable cost.”

Edelweiss General insurance has one of the most innovative products in the health segment, offering unique services like zero deposit admissions, zero-minute discharges and emergency assistance services. This is in line with the Company’s emphasis on being accessible and relevant to customers aligned to their evolving needs.