Airtel Marks Earth Day 2020 with LIVE Streaming of Concert by Grammy Award Winner “Ricky Kej”

As India stays home as part of its battle against COVID-19, Airtel’s digital entertainment platforms will enable its customers to celebrate #EarthDay2020 in a unique way.

To mark the global Earth Day celebrations, Airtel will LIVE stream a special concert by globally renowned and Grammy Award winning artist Ricky Kej, who along with 40 other musicians from across six countries will perform online from their respective homes.

The artists will also perform a new song ‘Shine Your Light” which the unique world ensemble of musicians are performing to promote a message of solidarity and showing kindness to everyone especially during these testing times.

The concert will available to Airtel customers for FREE on Airtel Digital TV (DTH Channel 222) and Airtel Xstream App starting 8pm (April 22, 2020).

The mega-concert has been brought together by One Page Spotlight along with WWF, United Nations Climate Change, UNCCD, UNICEF, UNESCO – MGIEP and the Earth Day Network with an aim to support WHO and COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Del Monte Partners with Zomato, Swiggy & Dunzo for "Home Delivery of its Products" Amidst Lockdown

Fieldfresh Foods Pvt. Ltd announced strategic tie-ups for its premium food brand, Del Monte, with online food delivering platforms Zomato and Swiggy as well as door to door delivery app Dunzo to deliver its range of premium food products - which include Tomato Ketchup, Mayo, Pasta, Olive Oil and fruit drinks - to consumers’ homes amidst the continuing lockdown.

As part of the tie up, Zomato has started home delivering Del Monte products in Bangalore.

Zomato has created a Del Monte store under its new Zomato Market section where consumers can glance through the Del Monte product range available in their vicinity and place an order for the same on the app itself.

Del Monte’ partnership with Swiggy will ensure safe and secure supply of its products to consumers homes, starting with Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar in the East region, followed by Bangalore, Delhi NCR and other major cities over the next few days.

Dunzo is currently doing doorstep delivery for Del Monte in Bangalore with Chennai and Pune going live shortly.Again, one just needs to search for Del Monte in the app and the list of stores and products available nearby get displayed.

“In such unprecedented times, we striving to ensure continuity in the supply of our products to consumers. In our efforts to ensure the same, we have partnered with app-based delivery platforms for smooth and safe delivery of our products across major cities, enabling accessibility and convenience for the consumers,” Yogesh Bellani, CEO Fieldfresh Foods said.

These products will be available at Del Monte’s distribution centers from where these partners will pick up and then, ensure safe delivery of these products across cities.

“We are happy to partner with leading delivery startups in this endeavor.This will make sure safe door to door delivery of food items that will help consumers to avoid stepping out and support social distancing, as it becomes the biggest tool for India’s fight against Covid-19,” Bellani said.

All the three tie-ups are operational and have started delivering from 17thApril, 2020.

About Del Monte:

Brand Del Monte has over 100 years of rich international heritage during which it has been synonymous with quality and taste. The brand originated in the US and is now available all across the globe. The Del Monte range of branded processed food and beverage products in India includes Fruit drinks, Ketchup & Sauces, Packaged Fruits and the Italian Range consisting of Pasta, Olive Oil and Olives and a Culinary range for both B2B and B2C markets.

Healing Touch’ Hand Sanitiser Launched By N. Ranga Rao and Sons to Combat COVID-19

N. Ranga Rao and Sons, the makers of Cycle Pure Agarbathies are launching sanitisers under the brand name ‘Healing Touch’ to combat the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The organisation has converted one of their fragrance lines to meet the surge in demand of sanitisers in the market. The vitamin C enriched Lemon based sanitiser has been crafted to ensure hygiene and safety of the citizens.

Committed to serving the nation and its people whom they work with, the brand has turned one of their fragrance lines into manufacturing hand sanitisers to meet the need of the hour. Ensuring the quality and accessibility of the product, the making was guided and certified by AYUSH.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Kiran Ranga, Managing Partner, N Ranga Rao & Sons said, “The market has seen a surge in demand for hand sanitisers lately, in the wake of COVID - 19. With the support of FSSAI, we have created Healing Touch in just 15 days to meet the supply and demand for this essential commodity. Our target is to reach maximum consumers and safeguard them at a time like this.

"Considering hygiene is of utmost importance in the health space, our hand sanitisers are safe and have been curated in-line with the hygiene standard. Manufacturing hand sanitisers was within our reach and we are glad that we are introducing this in the market at the right time.”  He adds.

About NR Group: 

The Mysuru-based NR Group was founded by Shri N. Ranga Rao in 1948. A true visionary and philanthropist, Shri. Ranga Rao created the ubiquitous Cycle Pure Agarbathies which has today become the largest selling incense brand in the world. From a home-grown enterprise, NR Group has evolved into a successfully run business conglomerate with an established presence in India and abroad. The Group has diversified into various business categories like functional air care products (Lia brand of room fresheners and car-fresheners), wellness home fragrance products (IRIS) under Ripple Fragrances, floral extracts (NESSO) and Rangsons Technologies. Today it is truly an Agarbathi to Aerospace conglomerate as it is also involved in making parts for defence helicopters. The organization has largely committed towards social responsibilities and fulfills them, through its charity arm ‘NR Foundation’. NR Group today is managed by the third generation of the Ranga family. For more information on NR Group, please visit http://www.nrgroup.co.in/ 

NODWIN Gaming Adopts #PlayApartTogether Campaign for India

NODWIN Gaming joins the World Health Organisation’s safety campaign #PlayApartTogether with a range of games to keep young India at home, safe and engaged! Global gaming industry leaders in the interactive entertainment space, including Riot Games, Twitch, Big Fish Games, YouTube Gaming etc have globally joined the #PlayApartTogether, to encourage people to practice social distancing to contain the spread of COVID-19. NODWIN Gaming urges the Indian gaming community to actively participate in the global campaign and #PlayApartTogether.

As part of the campaign, a team of highly respected gamers from NODWIN’s community has curated a list of their recommended games for different devices - mobiles, PCs and consoles. Some of the games are listed below:

Mobiles – Pool, Hearthstone, Last Day Cats, Marvel Super War, Roblox, Mobile Legends and Standoff 2

PCs- Call Duty Warzone, Dead By Daylight, RIFT, Smite, Destiny 2, World Warships, and Rocket League

Consoles – FIFA 20, Gears, Grand Theft Auto, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, Sekiro, Red Dead Redemption II and Spiderman.

Globally, the need of the hour is for people to stay home and help in their own way to flatten the curve. This global campaign is the gaming sector’s way of informing and encouraging the vast network of users to follow social safety norms. We have experienced a 25-30% hike in our viewership in the last few days. Gaming today has much to offer – from careful mathematical reasoning to the sheer exhilaration of walking away undefeated, and most importantly, to get our minds off the crisis.  Through games like these, we aim to share WHO’s important message of safety while letting our community know that they are not alone”, said Sidharth Kedia, CEO, NODWIN Gaming.

ABOUT NODWIN Gaming:

NODWIN Gaming, India’s leading esports company, is an independent subsidiary of mobile gaming company Nazara Technologies. Formed in 2015, the Gurugram-based company has since produced around 10,000 hours of gaming content, created 20 million+ touchpoints and organized 120+ gaming and esports events. NODWIN Gaming currently operates in India, the Middle East and South Africa.

Through its strategic partnerships with global players & publishers including ESL, Mineski, Valve and Tencent, NODWIN Gaming has introduced Indians to some of the best global experiences ranging from IPs such as DreamHack & ESL India Premiership, merchandise, gaming influencer management services as well as digital streaming services. 

Passport Feature on Tinder Now Free for All Members: Tips on How to Make the Most of It

Background: Tinder made the decision to make Passport free for all our members in this time of self-isolation and social distancing. Tinder Passport is typically a paid feature for Tinder Plus & Gold subscribers. Members can search by city or drop a pin on the map and you can begin Liking, matching and chatting with Tinder members in a destination of their choice. Navigate between your current location and new destinations. This is now available for free to all Tinder members

Tinder has got some insider tips to make the most of the globe-trotting feature while the bulk of our days are spent indoors. For those who haven’t traveled the world yet with Tinder, Passport lets you drop a pin to swipe, match and connect with members anywhere in the world. 

Here are 5 simple tips from Tinder that will help you make the most of this quarantine gem.

1. Give your “boarding pass” a refresh.

Just as you’d spend hours packing the perfect outfits before a big trip--ok or maybe just a few frantic minutes stuffing your suitcase with whatever you can find--you want to make sure your profile has a similar vibe for the city you’re swiping in. If you’re passporting into a destination where it’s summer right now, put your best beachside shots to the front. Even better, if you’ve been to the city before, throw in your favorite photo memories to show you’re not a total tourist.

2. Make it to the gate.

Confused on where to find Passport? We’ve got you covered.

Tap the profile icon
Open “Settings”
Scroll down and tap “Location”
Add a new location
Start Swiping

3. Talk the talk: How to break the ice with your Match

Rule of Passport #1: Don’t google translate your cheesy pick-up lines. There’s never been a better time to retire your auto-pilot icebreaker and send something new that’ll get your international conversation off on the right foot. Here are some examples to get you started:

These opening lines should help you get the chats flowing with your match from Madrid (or, literally, anywhere else in the world).

1. In normal times, what would be the first thing you’d tell someone who’s visiting [insert place] to do?

2. What’s not in your bio that I should absolutely know about you?

3. Are you a jeans on the plane type of person? Please say no.

4. Any idea how you say “nice pic” in [insert the language of your match’s country]?

5. If you had to live in one landmark, which would it be: the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Taj Mahal?

6. If you could go on a trip with any famous person, who would it be?

4. Not just for tropical destinations.

Passport isn’t just for ticking destinations off your bucket list. If you find yourself social distancing with your parents in your childhood hometown far from your everyday life, you can Passport back to the places you used to frequent to keep connecting with new people.

5. The world is your oyster.

You can change locations as often as you want so fill up that virtual passport book. And no need to worry about timezones, your profile can show up for up to 24 hours after your trip so you can maximize your matches. 

NCPA Presents New Edition of the Digital Series, ‘NCPA@home’ from April 23-26, 2020

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) is back with a new edition of NCPA@home to keep you entertained! Log on to NCPA’s YouTube channel from Thursday, 23rd April, to Sunday, 26th April 2020, at 6pm to witness performances by eminent artistes from across genres.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) introduced the invigorating digital series, ‘NCPA@home’ with the intent to spread positivity through art in these unprecedented times. The series showcase includes exclusive videos and content from Indian Music, Dance, International Music, and the Symphony Orchestra of India from NCPA's extensive archival library. Specially curated for music and dance enthusiasts, patrons can enjoy some of the finest performances from the confines of their home!

The digital series has earlier showcased performances by stalwarts such as Girija Devi, Mallika Sarabhai, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Aditi Mangaldas, Mud Morganfield and more. The series further includes presentations, lecture demonstrations and masterclasses.

The highlights of the coming week include: -

The debut performance of New York City’s Mingus Dynasty Quintet in India, at the NCPA International Jazz festival 2019
‘Song of the Himalayas’ – An experience through music, stories and visuals by Indian music composer and musician Shantanu Moitra with Ani Choying, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Purbayan Chatterjee and Ashwin Srinivasan
A concert by the Symphony Orchestra of India featuring Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, conducted by Martyn Brabbins with Marat Bisengaliev on violin
A classical Bharatanatyam dance presentation, ‘KALA - TIME’, by Indian classical dancer and choreographer Malavika Sarukkai at the NCPA ADD ART Festival 2019

Block your calendar and log on to NCPA's YouTube channel to enjoy all the upcoming showcases!

YouTube link -  http://www.YouTube.com/TheNCPAMumbai1

Honda India Foundation Extends Support During the Pandemic with Sprayers and Food Packets for the Homeless

Fulfilling its commitment towards the COVID-19 relief efforts, Honda India Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of all Honda group companies in India handed over 800 units of Honda engine powered High Pressure Backpack Sprayers in Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat.

The equipment was handed over to Mr. Sadan Ahlawat (Personal Secretary to Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana), Mr. Gautam Trivedi (Personal Assistant to Health Minister of Rajasthan), Mr. Sarafraj Khan (Joint Commisioner, Bengaluru, Karnataka) and Mr. M.N. Patel (Deputy Collector, Gujarat Urban Development Mission, Gandhinagar, Gujarat).

These High Pressure Backpack Sprayers are built with 4-stroke technology and Honda’s reliable engine. The environment friendly machines and portable machines can be used easily in multi-storey buildings and helps in completing the sanitization process much faster as the spray can reach to distant areas through its high speed capacity.

Additionally, being a socially responsible corporate, the company understands the need of the hour and supports those most in need as major services stay disrupted. Therefore, in order to take care of the poor and underprivileged in these difficult times, Honda started the distribution of 1,000 food packets each day since 3 April, 2020 to the people of Khoh Village (Dist. Gurugram) & Mohindergarh (Haryana) and to the villages of Vitthalapur, Gujarat.

Supporting the Karnataka Police who is risking their life for the safety of people, Honda started distributing over 500 food packets each day beginning 1 April, 2020.

Lastly, catering to the poor and homeless at this crucial time, Honda provided a total of 8,760 food packets during a period of 22 days to the local administration of Tapukara & Greater Noida.

About Honda India Foundation (HIF)

Honda India Foundation (HIF) is the CSR arm of all Honda group companies in India - Honda Cars India Ltd, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd, Honda Siel Power Products Ltd., Honda R&D (India) Pvt. Ltd and Honda Access India. The Foundation undertakes focused corporate social responsibility initiatives to promote road safety, environment protection, education & health care. Honda globally aspires to be ‘a company that society wants to exist” and contributes to the realization of a sustainable society by serving people worldwide with the joy of expanding their life’s potential through its social contribution activities.