South Indian Actors Turn to Twitter to Inform and Entertain Fans During the COVID-19 Lockdown

As India continues to follow a nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the entertainment industry has come to a standstill, resulting in cancelled shoots and indefinitely postponed film releases. This crisis is challenging the ways in which actors connect with their fans.

Despite that, fans remain optimistic, and are taking to Twitter to interact with their favourite actors. In return, South India’s leading actors are leaving no stone unturned in reciprocating this affection. From Telugu cinema’s megastars, Chiranjeevi (@KChiruTweets), Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh), Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) to Tamil cinema’s pride Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth), prominent South Indian celebrities are Tweeting to engage with fans and encourage them to stay home and be safe. Actors are also making videos at home with song lyrics that urge people to isolate and stay safe amidst the COVID-19 crisis, several fans too are joining the made-at-home video action on Twitter.

Chiranjeevi (@KChiruTweets) shares, “I owe everything to my fans and audiences. The possibility of directly interacting with them and sharing my thoughts through a platform like Twitter has often crossed my mind. But during these unprecedented times, I felt an urgent need to communicate directly with my fans and fellow Indians and this led me to join the platform in March, on the Telugu New year’s day and the first day of the nationwide lockdown. During COVID-19, it has become more important than ever before to stay connected so that we can get through this pandemic together. Twitter is doing a great job of helping people do that.”

The lockdown has merged the boundaries between professional and personal lives, and many actors are Tweeting snippets of precious moments spent with their families. In fact, Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) made his ‘stay home, stay safe’ appeal to fans by sharing a video of his daughter in which she talks about the precautionary measures that are necessary to fight coronavirus and flatten the curve.

Yahoo India Announces Before, After Search Trends Online Post One month in lockdown

A lot can change in a month. No one knows this better than Indian users, whose online search priorities changed enormously through the COVID-19 lockdown which began in India on March 24. Yahoo announced ‘Search in the Lockdown,’ which chronicles and compares what users in India searched for right before the country went into lockdown a month ago and new search priorities that have emerged since. These trends are based on users’ daily search habits in the last one month and an editorial selection of what they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo.

Top search keywords / searches: COVID-19 searches record massive jump

Before COVID-19 began to rule the search bar, the top search keywords online (for news) included ‘Delhi election results,’ ‘Delhi riots / Delhi violence’ and ‘JNU violence’. The top searched keywords (people) included (US President) ‘Donald Trump’, (Delhi CM) ‘Arvind Kejriwal’ and (politician) ‘Jyotiraditya Scindia’.

Through the lockdown, Novel Coronavirus related searches rose by a whopping 427%. The top 5 COVID-19 keywords were ‘COVID-19 updates’, ‘Symptoms of COVID-19’, ‘COVID-19 treatment’, ‘COVID-19 death toll’ and ‘Live COVID-19 tracker.’

Top searches related to the Novel Coronavirus included ‘Lockdown in India,’ ‘Vaccine for coronavirus,’ ‘Social distancing’ — a new term for most Indians, and Hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus — the anti-malarial drug that India is a leading producer of, described by US President Donald Trump as “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine” and a possible treatment for COVID-19.

Netizens scramble for WFH / productivity tools online

From pre-lockdown navigational searches for ‘WhatsApp web’ and ‘YouTube,’ Indians, who had to overnight work and learn from home, searched for a new class of products and tools to stay productive. The following were the ‘Top 5 Most Searched Tools for Team Communication,’ that enabled students to learn and professionals to work together remotely through the lockdown:

Zoom
Skype
Google Hangouts
Microsoft Teams
GoToMeeting
Most Searched Female Celebrity: Kanika Kapoor knocks Priyanka Chopra off the top

Social media favorite Priyanka Chopra was the Most Searched Female Celebrity online in pre-lockdown India, She was joined at No. 2 and No. 3 by regulars on this list Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone respectively.

That changed when singer Kanika Kapoor pipped these superstars to take the top spot on the list after she tested positive for COVID-19. (The UP police booked the singer for negligence for attending three social gatherings in Lucknow — this after her return from London and being instructed by the authorities to self-isolate.) Curiosity was at an all-time high about the singer, the chronology of her illness and her recovery online. In fact, Kanika Kapoor — known for her hits Babydoll and Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan — wasn’t just the Most Searched Female Celebrity, she was the Most Searched Celebrity among both male and female celebs, through the lockdown.

During the lockdown, Priyanka Chopra slipped to No.2, with Disha Patani, Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan making up the Top 5 Most Searched Female Celebrities. Katrina Kaif slid off the top 5 completely in the last month.

Lockdown celebs stayed in the news for their philanthropy, commitment to support COVID-19 causes and awareness, besides spreading cheer and rocking lockdown fashion for fans on social media.


Most Searched Male Celebrity: Amitabh Bachchan rises to rule

Superstars Rajinikanth (after Darbar), Salman Khan and Aamir Khan were top 3 in the Most Searched Male Celebrity category before the lockdown was announced. Post-lockdown, superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, active voices urging fans to stay safe through this period (and with some controversial tweets) took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the list of Most Searched Male Celebs. Salman Khan slid one place to No.3 — he put a new spin on the classic Sholay dialogue with, “Jo darr gaya samjho woh bachch gaya.” (Those who get scared, save themselves).

From public service announcements to generous donations and offering a glimpse of life in a lockdown, celebrities stayed in the public eye and accessible on social media. Actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff rounded off the Top 5 Most Searched Male Celebs through the lockdown.

Top Entertainment Searches: The Resurgence of Ramayan

It was entertainment as usual pre-lockdown, with netizens in India searching for Big Boss, Drive, Tanhaji, Housefull 4 and Good Newwz as their top entertainment searches. After the lockdown, Ramayan broke through overnight to become the top entertainment search after it was re-telecast on Doordarshan — a demand that sprung up on social media, with users requesting mythological programs be brought back for people at home during the quarantine! Pandemic movie Contagion also jumped into the top 5. Indians however continued to search for fun viewing — Good Newwz, Tanhaji and Big Boss, made up the top 5 Entertainment Searches in the last month.

Top searches for OTT services during lockdown: Amazon Prime Video ahead of Netflix

As demand for OTT services spiked, searches for OTT services rose by 59% with users searching for streaming choices online.

The Top 5 Searches for OTT Services were:

Amazon Prime Video
Netflix
Hotstar
Voot
Zee5
Top recipe searches: Dalgona Coffee craze hits India too

With restaurants shut and food delivery services interrupted, Indians searched online for ways to make their meals more interesting. Dalgona Coffee was trending across the world after going viral on social media and India was no exception. The recipe for this frothy caffeine cup rose to No. 1 on the list of Top Recipe Searches during the lockdown. Indians experimenting in the kitchen also searched for cake, paneer and chicken recipes. With staples like bread off the shelf for parts of the lockdown, users also searched for breakfast recipes online.

A sample of top questions Indians looked for answers to online during the lockdown
What is COVID-19?
How long does coronavirus live on surfaces?
How to make a mask at home?
Is there any vaccine for Coronavirus?
Is there a cure for Coronavirus?
Does Coronavirus spread through air?
What happens to Coronavirus patients in quarantine?
What is the treatment for Coronavirus?
What is the difference between n95 and n99 pollution mask?
How does Coronavirus spread?
How to prevent Coronavirus?
How many people (have) died from coronavirus?
How many children have got COVID-19?
How to contribute to PM’s corona fund?

Companies Share COVID-19 Day-Zero Strategy Keeping Employee Safety at Core

With the government giving a relaxation in the lockdown norms, companies are laying out the blueprint for business continuity while giving utmost importance to the safety of their employees. The pandemic has resulted in a paradigm shift where organizations, whether big or small, are prioritizing the health of employees just as much as they prioritize their financial stability. With almost every other organization planning to get easy access to A-grade medical facilities at work, they are also considering issuing certain guidelines for their workforce while also expecting the latter to strictly abide by the compliance.

We can expect several cultural shifts to prevail at work for the next few months, including office attendance as more companies are encouraging the digitization of their operations while also eliminating most of the high risk work. In addition to this, there will be a huge difference in terms of people’s socializing patterns, working habits and their extensive support for their employers.

Here are few such organizations and their precautionary measures for Covid-19 preparedness to safeguard their employees:

Toyota

Toyota plans to open its factories next month where it will introduce a daily self examination of health status for each employee where it will encourage them to stay back home in the event of any sickness. It will also ensure social distancing at pick up points while commuting to and fro from the factory, thermal screening at the time of pick up, alternative seating in the buses and maintaining social distancing at all times at the factories. While on the shop floor, it will be making it mandatory for its workers to wear a mask along with the standard cap/helmet and gloves. 

Xanadu Realty

Xanadu Realty India's leading Real Estate B2B consultancy firm has ensured that it has maintained a strong level of people centricity and employee engagement during the lock-down phase and has already begun planning for life once the lockdown ends. Xanadu ensures the roll-out of a Safety Protocol to the entire organization with dos and don’ts aimed at keeping people safe. Zoning the corporate office and sales offices into defined engagement zones to ensure social distancing norms are maintained. Each zone will also have scheduled disinfection done to keep surfaces and contact areas safe and also by ensuring that not more than 25% of the organization is aggregated at a single location at any time. To reduce physical engagement to the best extent possible, all meetings that can be done virtually will be done in such a manner. The organization is also providing Covid-19 fighting essentials such as hand sanitizers and masks accessible to all associates. In addition, Xanadu has honored all hiring offers that they had made prior to the lockdown and has continued hiring to ensure they are at 100% capacity on day zero post lockdown.

Biocon

With an objective of continuing the essential pharmaceutical manufacturing, Biocon has reduced the number of people in its offices to only those who carry out work such as manufacturing, logistics and quality operations, and has asked all other employees to work remotely from home. To promote good hygiene at work, Biocon has ensured the use of hand sanitizers, creation of zoning inside offices, satellite food courts, introduction of shift working, reduction of the seating density, and the reduction in the number of travelers in its company transport.

Brookfield Properties

Brookfield Properties has taken several long-term mitigating measures to ensure a safe working environment with high standards of hygiene to safeguard all its tenants, employees and other end users of its spaces across India including Candor TechSpace in Gurgaon, Noida and Kolkata; as well as for Powai Business District and Equinox Business Park in Mumbai. As a part of this, it is conducting a periodic fumigation of back premises such plant rooms, staircases, basements and terrace, front premises such as lobbies, food court and other prominent locations. It is also ensuring deep cleaning of cooling coils undertaken in addition to cleaning and disinfection of filters to flush out workspaces with fresh air before occupancy, and is also periodically monitoring the air quality.

In addition to this, Brookfield Properties is also conducting temperature checks at the entrances and periodic checks for front-line staff to monitor their health. It has also issued strict guidelines for self-regulation, personal protective equipment, and social distancing within the campus along with several safety protocols to be followed while entering and exiting the campus. 

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.