Home Credit Introduces Health and Wellness Initiatives for Employees Amidst Covid-19 Lockdown

Home Credit India (HCIN), a local arm of the international consumer finance provider with operations spanning over Europe and Asia, has introduced a spree of activities for the wellness of their employeesduring the COVID lockdown. Under the campaign #TogetherWeWin, a plethora of activities like mindfulness sessions, doctor consultations, online counselling, COVID-19 awareness drive, and welfare sessions for children are being organized for employees.

Daily mindfulness sessions are held to ensure mental well-being of employees. This is important as this is the first time that employees are working from home for a prolonged time duration which can impact their mental well-being and behaviour. Sessions are conceptualized for employees to build their mental strength and control anxiety during this challenging period.

A 24X7 helpline for Home Credit employees in distress who seek for online/telephonic counselling for any kind of emotional orpsychological disturbances is yet another step from Home Credit. Employees can register on 1to1Help.net toreceive the best of expert advices to help them ride through the crisis.

To help ensure the safety of the families and loved ones, Home Credit is conducting regular trainings and sessions for its employees. These are divided under 6 modules including, characteristics of a Pandemic, COVID-19 symptoms, how to stop spread of the virus, Myths Vs Facts, COVID-19 Insurance for HCIN employees and information sources.

Other key initiatives like webinar sessions on assisting employees for the wellness of their children, helping pregnant employees with appropriate guidance, have also been introduced.

Home Credit has pioneered the cause of employee safety since the start of this pandemic. The company introduced a special COVID-19 hospitalization cover of Rs 5 lakh per employee. Any employee who tests COVID-19 positive and requires immediate hospitalization is eligible to avail this insurance plan.

Take care of your health by sitting at home and consulting a general physician online. Home Credit also offers free online doctor consultations.

Satya Bharti School Students Celebrate Earth Day 2020 by Participating in e-Competition

Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, upheld the motto of Earth Day in its Satya Bharti Schools. Nearly 40,000 student in I92 Satya Bharti schools in rural India celebrated Earth Day 2020 in the form of a painting competition, while being at home.

Multiple themes were given to children to inspire their imagination, such as Water Conservation, Tree Plantation, Say No to Plastic, Save the Planet Earth, Environmental Pollution, and more. The students made beautiful paintings, and shared them with their teachers through WhatsApp groups created by parents and teachers.

During the nationwide lockdown, Satya Bharti Schools are ensuring that students continue to get education through e-learning. Class-wise WhatsApp groups have been formed and students are being given class specific reading material, video links and assignments.

About Bharti Foundation : Bharti Foundation was set up in the year 2000 as the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises. It implements and supports programs in primary, secondary and higher education as well as Sanitation. The flagship Satya Bharti School Program provides free quality education to thousands of underprivileged children in rural India across six states, with a focus on the girl child, since 2006. The impact of quality education has been scaled-up by transferring the learning and good practices of this program to lakhs of students studying in government schools across several Indian states and union territories, through the Satya Bharti Quality Support Program, since 2013.  Satya Bharti Abhiyan, the sanitation initiative since 2014, has been improving sanitation conditions in the districts of Punjab by providing access to toilets and by fostering behavioral change in communities. Together, the Foundation’s programs have cumulatively impacted over 2 million community members. 

The higher education partnerships and initiatives are designed to meet the education paradigms of the 21st century. Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management (IIT, Delhi), Bharti Centre for Communication (IIT, Bombay) and Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Mohali (ISB, Mohali) are among the leading higher education institutions in the country. The Satya Bharti Institute of Technology is deftly on the path of being established as an institution of global excellence in research and learning. https://www.bhartifoundation.org/

Current Program Reach

Education:

16 States, UTs/54 Districts/210 Blocks

2,70,000 + Students (current enrollment)

Sanitation:

25,000 + Toilets constructed*

1,85,000 + Beneficiaries **

* include (rural & urban Ludhiana + rural Amritsar), 37 Ladies’ toilets at Ludhiana Police Commissionerate and 14 Girls’ toilets constructed in government schools

** >55,000 estimated beneficiaries annually for Ladies’ toilets at Ludhiana Police Commissionerate

Data as of Feb 2020

Sashwata Bandhana - Airtel Supports its Partners Through Their Support Programs in Karnataka

In such unprecedented situation we are all seeing a sharp drop in business during this lock down period. This disruption has impacted many other categories in much worse ways. This sudden lockdown has also reduced returns of the

Airtel distributors , partners, franchises during April.

In order to help its partners . distributors  in Karnataka  tide over this tough time, Airtel has extended a onetime support for the month of April

This is done with an endeavour to ensure that the partners and other such front line resources get their basic income. Therefore passing the base monthly pay to all partner staff for the month of April said C Surendran, CEO – Karnataka, Bharti Airtel Ltd

Airtel is offering below programs for all its distributors/ franchises :

a) Airtel Child Scholarship
b) Airtel ki Ladli (Daughter’s Thanks Program)
c) Anmol Ratna and
d) Yuva Ratna.

They have also recently covered all Field Sales executives under the covid-19 medical insurance program as a gesture of our gratitude towards this force.

Daaji, Guide of Heartfulness and PV Sindhu to Host A LIVECAST During the 3-Day Global Virtual Youth Retreat

With an aim to keep the youth of the world motivated and inspired to handle the evolving COVID 19 situation and after with positivity, Heartfulness Institute is hosting ‘Bounce Back with YOUth 2.0’, a one of a kind Global Virtual Youth Retreat. This 3-day global virtual youth retreat for the young generation will enable them to dive deeper into understanding themselves. This event facilitates a journey of one’s present self to an even more peaceful, harmonious, and sustainable self. During the retreat, there will be a series of live sessions that are designed to be experiential and engaging with an eclectic mix of catalytic keynotes, practical workshops, interactive panels and much more.

As part of the  retreat on Saturday 25th April, 2020 at 7:30 pm IST (10am EST) - A LIVECAST session between P.V. Sindhu (an Indian professional badminton player) and Kamlesh D. Patel (present guide of Heartfulness, affectionately known as Daaji) will expedite inspiration and contemplation for youth who look forward to safe spaces for personal growth and creating services towards social impact. These hands-on activities will guide youth around the world to find their innermost strengths. Thousands of youth from 30+ countries such as India, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, etc. are participating in this global virtual retreat.

The 3-Day event will be organized via a digital platform partnered with Heartfulness Institute. The event is scheduled between April 24th - 26th during 2 PM-7 PM IST to accommodate the European, African, and Asian time zones. The event hopes to lead changes by understanding oneself and bring out a pragmatic being within the self. Website for registration and more information is at http://heartfulness.org/youth2.

Other speakers of prominence will include Chiki Sarkar, CEO of Juggernaut; Shyam Bhat, CEO of Mindfit; Kiran Bir Sethi, Founder at Design for Change; Tanvi Khanna, Professional Squash Player, Indian Squash Team and Ira Trivedi - Author, and famous yoga teacher, & more.

The institute has collaborated with YourDOST and Ripples for Change Foundation for reaching out to the youth and inspire them to lead the change in this changing environment. The live casts will be made available on their social media platforms.

Annamrita Foundation Provides Meals for 79 Lac+ Migrant & Poor Families impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Key Points

* Since the lockdown on March 25, 2020, has provided:
* ~30 Lac meals across Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Wada & Jalna

Distributed ~79 Lac meals across India
* Philanthropists and corporates pitch in to widen reach to the underprivileged
* The Foundation invites individuals and corporates to collaborate in this initiative through contributions to reach many more

Annamrita, formerly known as ISKCON Food Relief Foundation, has stepped up during the current lockdown to control the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide nutritious and hygienic meals to migrant workers, daily wage earners, slum dwellers and the poor living on streets across the nation. The Foundation launched ‘Operation Karuna’ to fight the scourge of hunger among the most vulnerable sections of society. Reliance Foundation and Ajay Piramal led Piramal Foundation have been key enablers with the former having pledged uninterrupted supplies of groceries and food grains during the lockdown period. Rotary Club of Bombay Queens Necklace has provided the much required initial funding for cooking large quantities of meals.

In the lockdown period since March 25, 2020 ~79 Lac meals have been distributed across the country at ~3.2 Lac meals per day. The Annamrita Foundation is inviting individuals, philanthropists, corporates and NGOs to come forward and contribute either small or large donations to this cause as there are vast numbers that are yet to receive this dire support.

Annamrita kitchens follow strict guidelines of hygiene and safety while preparing meals. Leveraging its unique ISO certified mass cooking technology, the power of a robust supply chain and industrial size kitchens, large quantities of meals are efficiently distributed to identified partner organizations/NGOs that have taken on the responsibility to ensure door-to-door delivery to the needy especially in slums. In Maharashtra, 81 tons of rice, 46 tons of pulses, 14 tons of cooking oil, 63.5 tons of vegetables, 4 tons of spices and 6 tons of salt have been utilized so far, to prepare these meals.

Dr. Radha Krishna Das, Annamrita Foundation said, “This is a difficult time for our country. Inspired by the teachings of our Founder, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, out of compassion towards our fellow living beings, we are committed to making a difference in their lives. The workers and volunteers of Annamrita are risking lives to do what is needed. We are grateful for the support we are receiving from our partner organizations as their active engagement has gone a long way to achieve the successful distribution of food. We request more people to join this initiative through their contributions so that we are able to reach many more that are currently facing acute hunger and shortage of food.”

Partners:

* Donors: The generous partner organizations that have contributed funds and donated in kind include Reliance Foundation, Ajay Piramal led Piramal Foundation, Rotary Club of Mumbai Queens Necklace, TajSats, Cipla, Bharat Petroleum, Bajaj, Thermax, Mahanagar Gas Limited, JSW, TVS, Mafatlal, IIFL Finance, Pidilite, Mahyco Monsanto, Bayer, Pranic Healing, Sahachari Foundation and other organizations and entrepreneurs.

* Distribution Partners: Rotary Club of Bombay Queens Necklace, Giants Parivar, NESH52 – No One Ever Sleeps Hungry, Art of Living, YMCA, Arham Yuva Seva Group, IDF and others.

Apart from big organizations, a large number of individuals and corporate employees have come forward to pledge and donate amounts staring from as little as INR 100 to crores as per their capacity. The love and support from individuals has encouraged. Annamrita Foundation to carry forward the noble task of feeding thousands of underprivileged people across the country.

Other Initiatives during the Lockdown include:

* Municipal Staff Feeding Program: At the request of the Municipal Commissioner of MCGM, Mumbai, Annamrita Foundation is delivering meals to all the dedicated and hardworking staff of the municipality on emergency duty. Over 10,000 members of the staff from departments such as solid waste management, maintenance, public health, education, social justice, fire, water and disaster management from 24 Wards around the city are catered to.

* Hospital Staff Feeding Program: The real battle against COVID-19 is taking place in quarantine centers and hospitals with doctors, nurses and several assisting teams working to save patients from the jaws of the disease. Annamrita Foundation is working round-the-clock to deliver meals to these hospitals and quarantine centers in Mumbai.

Acuver Appoints Manjunath B S as the New Chief Technology Officer

Acuver Consulting Private Ltd. has appointed a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), technology leader Manjunath B S. As CTO, Manjunath will be the custodian of tech innovation and strategy as well as drive the organization’s engineering vision. His role will span strategic planning, R&D and forging a culture of continuous innovation. Acuver has recently launched an end-to-end Product Engineering as a service, which will be led by Manjunath.

“Manjunath brings a wealth of experience and we are eager to see him overhaul our product engineering service offering.  We will be counting on him as a seasoned leader to deliver exceptional quality and ramp up value for our clients”, said Sunny Nandwani, Founder and Managing Partner, Acuver.

Previously, Manjunath worked with Tesco, Reliance Retail and Schneider Electric in mission critical engineering and management roles. With more than sixteen years of industry experience, he is a veteran in building agile software products and scaling organizations. He has a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from NMAM Institute of Technology.

“Helping organizations scale up quality and delivery on both consumer and supply chain side is my passion, and given that Acuver is at the prime of its growth phase, this role really calls out to me. I am looking forward to fortifying the Acuver Centre of Excellence, developing the company's technical community and accelerating efficiency within internal teams as well as in our commercial offerings to support long term company's growth objectives”, said Manjunath. “I am honored to contribute to Acuver as CTO”, he added.

Acuver Consulting helps companies optimize their supply-chain for enhanced efficiency, profitability and customer experience. Acuver combines the right tools, methodologies and expertise in IT, business and technology to deliver solutions customized to the client’s unique operational landscape. 

Indian Tourism Industry on the Brink of Collapse with Massive Job Loss as COVID-19 Brings Tourism to A Standstill

Key Points

* Over 95% MSMEs of 53,000 travel agents, 1,15,000 Tour Operators (inbound, domestic, outbound), 15,000 Adventure, 2700 MICE, 19,11,000 Tourist Transporters, 53,000 hospitality and 5 lakh restaurants facing the heat due to lack of cash flows
* COVID-19 Pandemic has jeopardized India’s once hailing 5 lakh crores tourism industry and employment of an estimated 3.8 crore jobs

Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality, the policy federation of all the national associations representing the complete tourism, travel and hospitality industry of India (ADTOI, ATOAI, FHRAI, HAI, IATO, ICPB, IHHA, ITTA, TAAI, TAFI) over the past six weeks has been appealing to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Tourism Minister, Commerce Minister, Aviation Minister, Niti Aayog and the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism and Reserve Bank of India. Indian Tourism industry, in 2018-19 handled business of over 10.5 million foreign tourists, more than 5million visiting NRIs, 1.8 billion domestic tourist visits & over 26 million outbound travellers. The industry is facing its biggest economic challenge with the larger and combined effect of 9/11 and the slowdown of 2009 and estimated bigger effect than the Economic Depression and World War II.

All the cash inflows of the industry have completely frozen and are likely to stay that way for the financial year 2020-21.  To address the issues of cash outflows, FAITH has recommended immediate measures for survival that need to be addressed parallelly.

* A complete deferment for twelve months of all statutory dues payable by tourism, travel & hospitality industry at the Central Government level, state and municipal government level without attracting any penal interest. These would include GST, Advance Tax payments, PF, ESI, customs duties, excise fees, fixed power & water charges and any fees for licenses and renewal at the state level.

* A support fund ‘Tourism COVID 19 Relief fund’ to be set up by RBI or Ministry of Finance or Tourism to support salaries and establishment costs. It should be either in the form of an interest free loan to Tourism companies for repayment of the principle over 10 years. The industry estimates the value of the fund to be minimum of Rs.50,000 crores which is almost equal to gross banking credit to the Indian Tourism industry.

* RBI has already provided for three months moratorium on EMIs of principle and interest payments on loans and recalculation of working capital from Financial Institutions. This needs to be without any accrued and accumulated interest during this period and it needs to be extended for twelve months.

To achieve the above FAITH recommends setting up National Tourism Task Force of all relevant ministries of the Central Government along with ministry of tourism and chief secretaries of State governments and industry stakeholders. This should be with legislative powers on the lines of GST council for state-wise standardized tourism response.

FAITH has also recommended that once the survival measures have been implemented then the measures for revival of Indian Tourism needs to be put in immediately. The Govt needs to stimulate domestic tourism by giving 200% weighted reduction of expenses to Indian corporates for undertaking their meeting, conferences, and exhibitions in India. LTA like income tax exemption of upto Rs.1.5 lakhs to Indians for undertaking their holidays with the country, these exemptions to be availed against invoices issued by GST registered Indian Tourism service providers.

To stimulate Tourism exports, SEIS needs to be notified at 10% value for all foreign exchange tourism companies and needs to be maintained at minimum same value for next 5 years and for off-season, it could go upto 15% value. To ensure the revival of Indian travel agent, all refunds, advances and cancellation amounts to be immediately paid back by all airlines, railways and state wildlife parks.

The TCS on travel agent proposed in the finance bill 2020 to be implemented on October 1, should be completely abolished as it puts the Indian travel fraternity at a huge disadvantage of upto 15% v/s their global competitors. Additionally, the service fee for credit card charges needs to below 1% and all corporate travel agent credit cards to be honored. To additionally ensure the survival of Indian tourist transporters, all inter-state levy need to be reduced and standardized. The year 2020-21 can be declared as a GST tax holiday for Indian tourism without stopping the flow of Input tax credits since there will be minimal GST collections from highly reduced travel within India.

FAITH urges the Government to declare immediate survival measures to prevent mass bankruptcy and crores of unprecedented layoffs. Worldover, countries have already put in support measures for Tourism industry through salary support and tax waiver such as USA, UK, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia and many others.