Heartfulness Institute Unveils Initiatives to Help Citizens to “Deal with Stress Due to Lock Down”

As the pandemic coronavirus spread across the world, Governments, Corporations and Individuals are all trying hard to grapple with the situation and having no parallel before are baffled by how to deal with the same. Uncertainty, Panic, Fear, Isolation are few of the constant feelings and emotions that one is being overwhelmed with not having enough insight to deal with the situation.

While the governments and medical community are working around the clock with those infected, doing their best to help them recover, prayers and wishes from are with them. For the rest, there may be a feeling of living in unnavigable times, that have been forced upon them due to isolation measures.

Heartfulness Institute has set up a Helpline to help talk the affected though the times and there will be global LIFECAST by Daaji, the guide of Heartfulness who will enunciate his thoughts on the situation and how to deal with it.The global LIFECAST By Daaji is scheduled on 2nd April 2020 at 5:30 pm IST. Significantly, Daaji will follow up his talk with a meditation session through the transmission process that makes Heartfulness Meditation unique and effective. Pranahuti ( life force ), centric to Heartfulness Meditation practice will be transmitted by Daaji as part of the meditation and those who wish to take part in the session should simply keep their eyes closed, sit in a comfortable posture silently without any external disturbance, focus on their heart and bring their attention to the divinity that exists in their heart.

Commenting on the initiatives Daaji said, “There is clear need for all of us to understand the situation as it stands today, demystify it and see it as it should be seen. There is too much information and too many changes in a very short time. How does one see it in a larger context of one’s life and what steps are needed to strengthen one’s ability to handle their feelings and emotions and thereby creating a contagion of positive emotions to deal with the situation together – The Theme of the LIFECAST”.

The LIFECAST can be accessed at -

http://www.Facebook.com/practiceheartfulness

http://www.youtube.com/c/heartfulness

The 24*7 Helpline ‘Voice That Cares’ launched today by Heartfulness Institute can be accessed by anyone by dialing the toll-free number 1 800 121 DHYANA (3492). Several hundred Heartfulness Trainers all specifically trained by Daaji for this purpose will be available round the clock to respond to the calls and help alleviate the emotional or mental distress the caller may be facing due to the uncertainty. Empathy is known to be one of the strongest healers and the trainers are well versed to navigate the callers through the distress they may be facing due to the ongoing lock down in the country.

Tata Motors Registered Domestic Sales of 11,012 Units in March 2020 and BS IV Inventory Near Zero

Tata Motors Limited today announced its sales in the domestic & international market, for the month of March 2020, which stood at 12,924 vehicles, compared to 74,679 units during March 2019.

Domestic - Commercial Vehicles:

Mr. Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “Cumulatively, commercial vehicle domestic sale for FY20 at 3,10,855 units was -34% lower than FY19. Retail was 16% higher than offtake for the entire year.  Domestic sales in March 2020 was 5,336 units, deeply impacted by the COVID 19 lockdown as well as the planned transition to BSVI. Retail sales was significantly ahead of wholesales (>300%). Almost all BSIV vehicles in the ecosystem have been retailed, however, some await registration which was halted due to the lockdown. This will be cleared in the window provided. Productionization of BSVI vehicles was on track and we have wholesaled the initial few BSVI vehicles.

Our focus is to secure the extensive business continuity plan including ensuring full support to all our customers in need, particularly those who are transporting the essential goods during this challenging period”

Total M&HCVs sales in FY20 including M&HCV Truck, Buses and International Business stood at 98,579 units compared to 1,86161 units in FY19.

Domestic - Passenger Vehicles:

Mr. Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “Vehicle sales was affected by the COVID 19 outbreak and the subsequent nationwide lockdown. However, the customer response to our newly launched models – the Altroz and the refreshed BSVI range is encouraging. Our BSIV vehicle stock is near zero in the entire network.

I would be handing over to Mr. Shailesh Chandra who I am sure will take the PV team and the business to the next level, by delivering an exciting customer experience and building on the strength of the NEW FOREVER product portfolio.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: In continuation of our drive to focus on retails and drive ecosystem viability, Tata Motors will henceforth stop reporting monthly wholesale numbers from next month (ie April 2020) and instead report quarterly wholesale and retail numbers. In the current volatile scenario, we believe this helps us take the right long-term decisions for the business, helps our dealers to focus on serving customers and helps our investors to focus on the long term drivers of the business and avoid needless short term volatility.

Cure.fit Joins the Fight Against COVID 19 with Contribution of Rs 4 Cr

As the fight against the novel coronavirus continues globally, integrated health care startup cure.fit, its management team and founders, have pledged to contribute Rs 4 Crore towards this cause.

cure.fit will contribute  Rs 2 Cr , the management team of company will donate Rs 1 Cr and founders Mukesh Bansal and Ankit  Nagori will contribute Rs 1CR  collectively in their personal capacity for the fight against COVID 19. 

These contributions will be given across PM Care Fund, ACT Grant Fund and other relevant charities who are fighting this in India .

These are unprecedented times and we all need to do our bit and join hands in this fight together. This is just a start. As a health and wellness company cure.fit will look at areas where they can support and have significant impact to society.

Salarpuria Sattva Group Takes Up Community Outreach Initiative for Needy During Lockdown

Salarpuria Sattva Group, India’s leading Property Development, Management and Consulting organization, has always been responsible in making a significant social impact to the communities it serves. Amidst the growing criticality due to COVID19 crisis, where the most affected are from the marginalized sections of the society, Salarpuria Sattva Group has extended its boundaries and taken the initiative of feeding the needy everyday till the end of lock down to help them survive in this challenging situation.

The group is taking the onus of cooking by themselves while adhering to hygienic precautions and distributing it in a systematic manner following the Govt. directives of social distancing. Amongst selected areas across the city, Old Airport Road (near Rajeshwari Theater), Royal Orchid Road (near Manipal Centre), Challaghatta, Nagasandra, Murugeshpalya, Jyothi Nivas College at Koramangala are the primary locations where the group has initiated food distribution. Police Stations at Jeevan Beema Nagar and Electronic City have extended help to the company officials to successfully implement this initiative.

In addition to this, the group has organized ration packets consisting of essentials like rice, wheat flour, oil, lentils, salt and other necessities for the next 10 days, aiming to touch the lives of 2500 migrant workers near Electronic City.

Greenwood High School, the educational entity of the group has also come forward to provide cooked food to more than 600 people at Varthur and other nearby localities.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bijay Agarwal, MD, Salarpuria Sattva Group said, “With the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and announcement of 21 day lockdown by the Govt., income opportunities for people below the poverty line have stalled. As a responsible entity, we at Salarpuria Sattva Group pledge to help the marginalized section and provide them food till the situation demands. This is our humble effort to help the people in distress.”

Salarpuria Sattva Group wishes safety for everyone and hope the country comes out of the present crisis as soon as possible. 

TKM Sells 8022 Units in March 2020 As It Bids Farewell to Etios and Corolla Altis in India

Having successfully liquidated all its BS4 stocks even at the dealership level, TKM sold a total of 7023 units of BS6 vehicles to its dealers (wholesales) in the month of March 2020. To lessen the burden on its dealers, TKM withheld sales by 50% for the month of March 2020, just ahead of the 21 days national lockdown called upon by the Government of India.  The company also exported its last batch of 999 units of the Etios series last month thus clocking a total of 8022 units.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor had sold a total of 12,818 units in the domestic market in the month of March 2019. The company had exported 844 units of the Etios series in March 2019, thus clocking a total of 13,662 units in the same month last year.

Moreover, last month also witnessed the last batch of the Etios series as well as the Corolla Altis being manufactured at TKM’s plant in Bidadi, bringing an end to the iconic journeys both the models have enjoyed in India. This transition is a part of Toyota’s global product strategy to continue to service the ever-evolving needs of the customer through enhanced technologies and product offerings. However, the company will continue to cater to all Etios series & Corolla Altis customers’ needs through Toyota service outlets across the country along with the promise of availability of Toyota genuine spare parts for the discontinued models.

Commenting on the monthly sales, Mr. Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales and Service, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Even though the company has been long successful in liquidating all BS4 stock and transitioning into a 100% BS6 manufacturing facility, last month has been very challenging for us, both in terms of sales as well as production. With the spread of COVID-19 threat in various parts of the country followed by the 21 days national lockdown, the company’s priority was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its stakeholders and most importantly our dealers and their staff who are in the frontline. To bring this to immediate effect, our dealerships across the country were shut down beginning March 23rd along with a temporary halt of production at our plant in Bidadi.

We would like to reassure our dealer partners that they are the most important asset for us and we have been thinking about their sustainability. This pandemic has financially impacted all our dealerships across India. While the Government has announced several relief measures including moratoriums, we have also studied the fixed cost expenses of dealerships and have come up with a relief package called the COVID package to assist in maintaining liquidity to improve cash flow. The company is also planning towards ensuring proper sanitization of the dealerships once the national lockdown is over so as to ensure the safety of all our dealer staff as well as the customers who visit the outlets.

TKM wholeheartedly appreciates the measures taken by the Government and will continue to support them by implementing impactful initiatives to deal with this crisis.”

Five Tech Platforms that Offers Support During Coronavirus Outbreak

The country has been exploring every step in their capacity to combat and contain the rapid spread of COVID -19. While it has set a good example in terms of dealing with crisis at initial stage itself, To fight the pandemic, several medtech companies have come forward and developed solutions, which can help in identifying the disease and take preventive measures on time to cure it.

These companies are using a range of technologies in their fight against the pandemic. Here is a list of some of the medtech platforms and solution being deployed in India to curb the virus :

Bione Microbiome Test

Bione has developed a COVID-19 focussed Microbiome test, which combined with its AI, predictive analysis tools can provide tailored recommendations to individuals to strengthen their particular microbiome and thus be more immune to Coronavirus and be able to fight off COVID-19. Bione is working towards boosting preventive healthcare and increasing life expectancy in India. With the vision of leapfrogging genetic testing and microbiome services in India, they have founded Bione Ventures which envisions to empower people to unlock their health and fitness through personalised genetics and microbiome. The genetic programme uncovers the disease predispositions and microbiome, and decode the secret to a healthy gut. It also leads to a healthy family genomic journey with Bione.

Abbott Laboratories Molecular point-of-care test

Abbott Laboratories on Friday announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the fastest available “molecular point-of-care” test to check for Covid-19.The test can detect positive results in five minutes, while negative results take about 13 minutes. It will run on Abbott’s ID Now platform, which is small, lightweight and portable. It employs molecular technology, which is highly valued by the scientific community for its accuracy. Apart from quick test results, a selling point of the ID NOW platform is that it can be used in urgent care clinics, not just traditional hospitals.

Mylab Discovery Coronavirus testing kit

Mylab Discovery, in the western city of Pune, became the first Indian firm to get full approval to make and sell testing kits. It shipped the first batch of 150 to diagnostic labs in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bengaluru (Bangalore) this week. The molecular diagnostic company, which also makes testing kits for HIV and Hepatitis B and C, and other diseases, says it can supply up to 100,000 Covid-19 testing kits a week and can produce up to 200,000 if needed.

Whatsapp Chatbot for Coronavirus

India is turning to WhatsApp,  to create awareness about the coronavirus pandemic and has urged social media services to tackle the spread of misinformation on their platforms. Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, said on Saturday that citizens in the country can text a WhatsApp bot — called MyGov Corona Helpdesk — to get instant authoritative answers to their coronavirus queries such as the symptoms of the viral disease and how they could seek help.

Corona Kavach tracking app

The Government has launched a coronavirus risk-tracking app called ‘Corona Kavach.’ Jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the app uses a person’s location to assess whether they are in the high risk geographical zone or not. The app is now available for download — in beta — for Android phones on the Google Play Store. Corona Kavach is designed to provide information about COVID-19 and capture information. It will track the data of the users every one hour to alert them of whether they have crossed paths with any person who has tested positive for the infection.

Takeda Appoints Koki Sato AS New Country Head for Indian Market

Highlights

* Koki Sato to lead Takeda’s business in India, ensuring patient access to highly innovative medicines
* Seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with over 17 years of experience across geographies

Takeda India announced today the appointment of Koki Sato as the Country Head for the Company’s India business. In his current capacity, he will lead the company’s operations with a focus on the expansion of patient access to Takeda’s highly innovative portfolio in the country.

Koki joined Takeda in 2003 and, since then, grew within the company to hold various senior international roles across multiple functions, including Commercial Operations, Finance, and HR. Prior to this role, Koki was the General Manager of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova (UBM) Cluster in Takeda’s ICMEA* Area.

Commenting on his new role, Koki Sato said, “India is of significant importance for Takeda and we endeavor to develop initiatives which will lead to enhanced patient access to our highly innovative medicines locally. We remain committed to serving India’s patients, and aim to bring newer therapies for rare diseases, gastroenterology, and oncology to them in the coming years, along with hopefully, our Dengue vaccine candidate.”

Across its ICMEA* Area, and more broadly across the countries that span its Growth & Emerging Markets Business Unit, Takeda collaborates with healthcare providers, governments and regulators, to ensure that its portfolio of innovative medicines is made available to patients as quickly and safely as possible.

Koki will be officially assuming his position from April 1, 2020. He is a Japanese national and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from Waseda University, Japan.