upGrad Doubles Classes, Courses and Capacity to Deal with the Surge in Demand for Online Learning

Edtech major upGrad, India’s largest higher education provider just moved their start dates for all their 40 courses to start every month instead of quarterly, to take on the surge in demand from working professionals. This has more than doubled their course capacity, and each class now has a peak of 1000 learners at a given time.

“The larger the class in online, the more active the peer-to-peer learning and so it’s the inverse of offline learning,” says Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, upGrad.

"Last month we reached 5, 00,000 learners for our online programs, which is no mean feat in itself. Now take into consideration that our average ARPU is INR 2.5 lakhs. Yet, we are only at the very start of addressing a market of over 100 million working professionals and graduates." continues Screwvala.

This quarter, upGrad’s revenues will cross an annual run rate of INR 500 Cr with the launch of their Live Learning platform free of cost to multiple colleges and universities, to replicate their classrooms online and address their students during the Covid-19 period seamlessly. The company also separately recorded 10,000 enrollments for their 350 hours of free courses initiated during this period.

About upGrad:

Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. In a short span of around 5 years, upGrad on-boarded over 53K paid learners and impacted more than 500K individuals globally, making it India’s largest online higher-education company, basis gross revenue generated from the Indian market in FY18-19.

upGrad provides programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and MBA to college students, working-class and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT-B, BITS Pilani, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others. To further enhance the learning experience, a comprehensive ecosystem has been built which includes one-on-one mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, industry networking and most importantly expert career guidance providing learners' holistic support to elevate their careers to the next level.

The company has been awarded the title of ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019. The company received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times, Most Innovative Companies in India' by Fast Company in 2017 and has made it to LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’ two years in a row in 2018 and 2019.

Force Motors ‘Mobile Dispensary’ Treats 27,066 Patients, Eases Pressure on the Healthcare Fraternity in Karnataka

Key Points

* “Doctor at Your Doorstep” initiative treats 27,066 patients in 28 days through the mobile dispensary
* Checked and referred over 34 suspected COVID—19 patients to the government hospitals across Karnataka

Presently, there is immense pressure on the doctors and medical staff due to increasing positive cases daily. To address this issue, automotive major Force Motors in association with the Bhartiya Jain Sanghatan has initiated a mobile doorstep dispensary facility “Doctor at Your Doorstep” in Karnataka.

This initiative started on 07th April, with Mobile Dispensary Vans completely equipped with doctors, support staff, medicines moving to various economically weaker localities in Bijapur as per a pre-intimated schedule. Further, 24 mobile dispensaries has been treating people every day in other cities in Karnataka.  The team of doctors and medics with these vans are fully equipped to identify COVID-19 symptoms and directly infected suspect cases to the designated hospitals.

All the medicines that are prescribed or given out on free of charge basis. Mobile units can check 2,500 people every day and can examine the symptoms of around 500 patients in a day. Doctors in the vans monitor patients for cold and flu conditions and also inform patients about preventive measures to be taken against coronavirus spread. Over 27,066 residents have been checked and more than 34 suspected COVID-19 patients were transferred to government hospitals in the last 28 days. This service will continue until Coronavirus is fully contained.

Speaking on this initiative, Mr. Prasan Firodia, Managing Director, Force Motors said “COVID 19 has created huge pressure on doctors and medical staff. We are proud to be associated with this noble initiative”.

He further added “Apart from this initiative our group (Dr. Abhay Firodia Group) has earmarked Rs 25 Crores to support COVID-19 relief activities. This deployment will be aimed at supporting upgradation of health care infrastructure, enhancing blood collection capability, facilitating mobile clinic/testing capabilities and providing free food to the needy”.

The citizens, as well as the local administration, have welcomed this initiative and Force Motors have already extended this initiative to other key markets like Baijapur, Bangalore & Mysore and others cities across Karnataka.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Shantilal Mutha, Founder BJS said, “The Firodia family has always wholeheartedly supported his organization’s social work initiatives, right from inception over three decades back”.

About Force Motors Limited

Force Motors, was established in 1958 by Shri N. K. Firodia, with the vision to provide affordable commercial transport for the masses by harnessing the best available technology and offering economical, reliable and efficient products.

Today, Force Motors is a fully vertically integrated automobile company manufacturing automotive components, aggregates, vehicles and agricultural tractors. Its ‘Traveller’ and ‘Trax’ vehicle ranges are market leaders in their respective segments.

Force Motors is the flagship of the company group headed by Dr Abhay Firodia which has 15 manufacturing units across the country and a 14,000-strong workforce.

Force Motors is the only company in the world that produces engines for both Mercedes and BMW. In March 2018, it entered into a JV with Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG to manufacture in India and supply worldwide their 10/12 cylinder S1600 engines (545 to 1050hp) for power generation and under floor rail applications.

Abbott Announces CE Mark and Availability of its COVID-19 Laboratory-Based Antibody Test in India

Highlights

* New European made antibody blood test will run on Abbott's ARCHITECT® i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments and will expand to its Alinity i system
* Abbott will begin shipping to India by the end of May and will scale up to meet the demands subsequently.
* Test demonstrated specificity and sensitivity of greater than 99 percent 14 days or more after symptoms started

Abbott announced today it received CE Mark to the IVD Directive (98/79/EC) for its laboratory-based serology blood test for the detection of the antibody, IgG, that identifies if a person has had the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Antibody testing is an important next step to tell if someone has been previously infected. It will provide more understanding of the virus including how long antibodies stay in the body and if they provide immunity. This type of knowledge could help support the development of treatments and vaccines.

"Abbott has been singularly focused on bringing COVID-19 tests to market as quickly as possible to help address this pandemic," said Narendra Varde, General Manager and Country Head at Abbott’s diagnostics business in India. "We are proud to be providing our antibody tests in the coming weeks as they will help understand who has had the virus, leading to greater confidence as we get to living life.”

Antibody tests to expand testing

While molecular testing detects whether someone has the virus, antibody tests determine if someone was infected. Abbott's SARS-CoV-2 IgG test identifies the IgG antibody, which is a protein that the body produces in the late stages of infection and may remain up to months and possibly years after a person has recovered. The test demonstrated specificity and sensitivity to detect IgG antibodies of greater than 99 percent 14 days or more after symptoms started.

Abbott's IgG antibody test will initially be available on its ARCHITECT® i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments.* ARCHITECT is one of the most widely used laboratory systems in the world and it's been used for decades. These instruments are in use in laboratories throughout India and can run up to 100-200 tests per hour.

Abbott is significantly scaling up its European manufacturing for antibody testing and will expand testing to its Alinity™ i system. Abbott will also be expanding its laboratory antibody testing to the detection of the antibody, IgM, in the near future.

About Abbott's Diagnostics Leadership

Abbott has long been a global leader in infectious disease testing, including the development of the first HIV test. The company created a Global Surveillance Program 25 years ago to monitor HIV and hepatitis viruses and identify mutations to ensure the company's tests remain up to date. Abbott also has a long-standing discovery program that identifies new or unknown pathogens and develops tests to address these new threats.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Hero Motocorp Gears Upto Restart Operations Manual Shared with Employees, Dealers and Vendors

“The health, safety and overall wellbeing of everyone in our large ecosystem has been the top priority for us at Hero MotoCorp. From the early onset of COVID-19, we have been proactive in our Business Continuity plan and this has helped us during the much-needed nationwide lockdown. It was our preemptive preparation that has kept us in good stead during these past 40 days.

“We are now ready to hit the ground sprinting as we commence the re-opening of our facilities. The wellbeing of the citizens continues to be our focus and the running of our economic engines is crucial to ensure their health and prosperity. With meticulous planning and enthusiasm, we are set to recommence operations. I am optimistic that business and the economy will begin the trajectory of its gradual recovery from here” says Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Hero MotoCorp.

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, is rapidly gearing up to commence operations, as per the guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India.

The decision by the Company comes in the wake of the relaxations put in place by the government on the countrywide lockdown and the necessary permissions granted by the local authorities.

To begin with, Hero MotoCorp is commencing operations in a graded manner at three of its manufacturing plants – Gurugram and Dharuhera (both in Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and additionally the Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana in Rajasthan. These manufacturing plants reopen from today and production at these facilities will commence from Wednesday.

Only the essential staff will come to work at all the other facilities and corporate offices, observing social distancing and all prescribed safety measures. The remaining employees across all locations in India will continue to Work from Home (WFH) till further notice.

The Company’s other manufacturing plants have also obtained the necessary permissions to reopen and these will commence operations after most of the supply chain partners of the Company get the permissions to operate.

The Company’s R&D facility – the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) – has also received the necessary permission to reopen and will resume functioning soon.

Keeping employee wellbeing and safety at the core of restarting operations, a formal restart manual has been prepared and shared with all employees via email & webinars and its adherence has been made mandatory until full normalcy is restored.

Few key guidelines of the restart manual for employees include –

* Mandatory self-declaration of good health before joining and daily updates through Aarogya Setu and Hero App wherever applicable
* Wearing of face-masks, face shield, digital attendance through Hero App, regular sanitization of personal items, work-stations and maintaining social distancing
* No domestic or international travel, no celebratory or business gatherings
* No visitors allowed to visit Company premises, neither are employees allowed to visit vendor or dealer premises
* Thorough sanitization of all workplaces regularly, sanitization of buses, shuttles and other official vehicles after each trip 

* Mandatory WFH for

o   Employees above the age of 60
o   Any employee with critical medical conditions
o   Pregnant women

Hero MotoCorp proactively halted operations across its manufacturing facilities and made WFH mandatory for all its offices from March 22, 2020.

With the easing of restrictions in several parts of the country, most of the Company’s extensive customer touch-points, including dealerships, workshops and the secondary network, are expected to open gradually from today onwards.

A business restart manual has also been shared with all the dealer partners of the Company and they are restarting operations as per the government guidelines, after obtaining the necessary permissions from the local authorities.

In the month of April, there were no vehicles manufactured and dispatched to dealers. During this time, Hero MotoCorp - along with other Hero Group companies - has been engaged in a host of social welfare work, setting aside a corpus of Rs. 100 crores for the relief efforts towards COVID-19, including a contribution of Rs 50 crores to the PM-Cares fund.

In addition to donating over 2000 motorcycles to authorities, the Company has also been distributing meals, manufacturing and distributing sanitizers, face-masks, and developing engineering solutions for public safety. The Company continues to expand the scope of these initiatives.

Hero MotoCorp has also specially developed two-wheeler first responder vehicles and the production of 60 such vehicles will start this week. These vehicles will be distributed to the local authorities in the remote and inaccessible areas across the country.

Hero MotoCorp's COVID-19 Relief Work 

Initiative                                     Numbers till May 3, 2020

Meals Distributed till Date                     578,810 
Ration Kits Distributed till Date               8,447
Sanitizer Distributed till Date (Litres)        9,239
Protective Face-Masks Distributed till Date     689,100

Former Design Student of LISAA School Gives Free Masks to Needy

Global crises like pandemics are devastating, but they also spur unity and innovation. Various industries are coming together to fight against the  deadly virus COVID-19. Fashion design students are doing their fair share  by using their talents to design and sew face masks.

The World Health Organisation maintains that only those who are sick (coughing and sneezing) or taking care of a sick person should wear them, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised using “cloth face coverings” even if you are not sick.

Since DIY cloth masks can do the job,  Ila Tempus, one of the former fashion design students of LISAA School of Design in Bengaluru have taken initiative to make masks for the public. Illa has been crafting hundreds of face masks .

She provides free masks to local workers who can't afford it, for every three masks that are bought by people who can afford it.

Ila Tempus said, “We wanted to help people in any way possible. We partnered with our tailoring head and decided on creating 100% cotton 2-ply reusable tailored masks which were recommended by various health departments around the world. We made sure to keep a sterile environment and have a series of procedures in place to avoid the virus and create the products safely. Medical shops were running out of masks, and we knew we had to develop the next best thing. “

“There was less than 28% waste generated while the masks were being made, this 28% will be further recycled into new fabrics after the lockdown ends,” she further added.

SMEs/ MSMEs and Rural Agriculture Reforms Needed to Uplift the Economic Slowdown

India's unemployment rate hit 26% and 14 crore people lost employment as per CMIE data released recently. This is the single largest blow to the economy, thanks to prolonged lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, and greatest and gravest threat to the demographic dividend that is (was) our strongest point. Against this background, if any sector can help mitigate it to a great extent, it is the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) along with the agriculture sector. 

In context to the same, Mr. Sandip Chhettri, COO, TradeIndia says, "MSMEs contribute to 29 per cent of GDP in the country and employs over 12 crore people. MSME businesses are usually a month-to-month operation, with little reserves for the future. A disruption like this might just mean restarting everything. The biggest worry is, of course, a liquidity crunch, followed by a disrupted supply chain, labour availability and regulatory issues that have affected the MSME sector.Government must look at providing loans to cover wages, suspension of contributions to employee’s provident fund and Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for six months. And must clawback of GST that has already been paid.  They also much look at  creating liquidity by clearing dues from government departments, public sector undertakings, GST refunds and fast-track the process of tax refunds MSME must be given easier access to bank loans, especially at low rates, with help from the state and central governments"

Similarly, Mr. Amith Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, AgriBazaar shares, "The government’s push to bring maximum farmers online for their agri-purchase and crop selling is a decisive move. Any government policy like agri-produce insurance that guarantees the farmer that his crop will get purchased by the government at a fair price will be in line with India’s ensuring its long-term food sufficiency policy. In the ensuing season, farmers should get liberal financial assistance to purchase seeds, fertilizers and other agri-inputs so that they don’t waste one entire crop-cycle.Second, though a bold move, the government should ensure agri-tech start-ups enjoy ‘zero Income tax’ status similar to agriculture income. By recognizing agri-tech start-ups in the same line as agriculture, the government will spur deep investments and innovation in this sector. Today, the only solution to India’s agri woes is localized technology interventions that are relevant for the small farm owner or agri-landholder. Farm sector should be treated as a priority sector not only by banks but across regulators like credit rating agencies."

He further adds, "Once agri-start-ups start to benefit from the government similar to agriculture income, it will open up serious investment opportunities. The larger goal of food security, self-reliance in crop production and minimizing our food import bill will get automatically addressed through this measure. In a post COVID19 world, agri-tech should be used to restart the agri-economy in a fast-track manner"

TechGig Collaborates with Google Cloud to Launch Cloud DevJam

Today, TechGig in collaboration with Google Cloud launched the Cloud DevJam, an interactive upskilling online program designed to help Indian IT professionals enhance their cloud-based skills and apply knowledge to advance their professional careers. The program has been designed to enable developers to build their skills while at home during the current scenario.

Cloud DevJam program participants can build their expertise around an array of Google cloud Platform (GCP) skills including Core Infrastructure, Data & Machine Learning, Application Development and more. With live interactive sessions led by Google Cloud experts, developers can apply and test their knowledge through multiple choice question tests, hands-on labs, hackathons, and other skill-tests. Every participant of the program will also have the opportunity to validate their knowledge by applying and completing their Google Cloud certification. With points to be earned with each activity, developers can earn the recognition of ‘Cloud DevJam Champions’ at the end of the program.

Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The COVID-19 outbreak, and the social lockdown, has made it critically important for everyone to remain updated with the newer technologies. Today, the digital frontier - led by the cloud-based technologies - is driving most initiatives in all the sectors. I am glad that at such juncture, TechGig - in collaboration with Google Cloud - is launching ‘Cloud DevJam’, a unique opportunity for the technologists to explore, learn and upskill on the Google Cloud Platform. This program has been curated to help the developers learn and understand the fundamentals of Google Cloud and advance their skills in the process. I welcome all the IT professionals to participate in the ‘Cloud DevJam’ hackathons and skill-based contests and showcase their innovative ideas”.

Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Google Cloud India said, “One thing that recent events has made clearer than ever is the importance for organisations and tech talent to be digital-first and cloud-ready. The Cloud DevJam is unique because it’s been conceptualized to enable developers to build their knowledge while at home, and companies will need to call on their skills in the immediate and long term to ensure business agility, resilience and overall competitiveness.”

Getting started
Interested participants can visit Cloud DevJam (https://www.techgig.com/googlecloud) to register and join the learning journey that best suits them.