Toyota Kirloskar Motor Clocks 1639 Units in the Month of May 2020

TKM has announced that the company sold a total of 1639 units in the month of May 2020. The company had sold a total of 12,138 units in the domestic market in the corresponding month last year, as well as exported 928 units of the Etios.

Having announced resumption of production in its plant in Bidadi since 26th May, TKM has been catering to the pending orders that the company had received, ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced. The month of May also witnessed gradual restart of Toyota dealership in certain parts of the country. By mid-May, almost 60% of Toyota dealerships were operational. However, this did not comprise of the key metropolitan markets. As the lockdown relaxed, TKM was able to cater to customers in other markets as well.  

Commenting on the monthly sales, Mr. Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Service, TKM said, “We are thankful to the Govt. as well as to our supplier and dealer partners who have enabled us resume production last month. We are conscious of the dealer business conditions in various parts of the country and we have been prioritizing production at our end as per dealer requirements, both in terms of quantity as well as the grades that they require. The market has been slow and with demand being less, we have been able to wholesale only 20% of what we would have clocked under a normal situation. However, retail sales (sale from dealer to customer) have been much higher when compared to wholesales (TKM sales to dealers), thereby helping us reduce the month closing inventory levels at dealerships. We have also seen a significant surge in customer orders and enquiries online, through digital platforms.

We are very thankful to our customers as well who trust us and our products as well as have been patient with us.  We have now resumed operations in more than 300 Toyota outlets across the country, with ongoing sales operations in close to 220 outlets and service operations in more than 230 outlets. From sales and service point of view, business is ramping up and we are exceeding 50% of our normal capacity from the open outlets. 

We would like to ensure our customers that with the resumption of production at our plant, our first aim is to cater to the immediate needs of our customers in areas where deliveries are possible. We have been receiving online orders as well and have started to address them, while placing the highest priority to the safety and well-being of all stakeholders and by adopting the ‘Safety and Health First’ approach at all times.”

Tata Sky Launches New and Improved Offer on Tata Sky Binge+ Android Set Top Box

Offers 

* The new and improved offer is available to customers at Rs. 3999 along with 6 months of Tata Sky Binge subscription for free

* Customers can avail 6-months of free access to premium OTT content from Disney+ Hotstar, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now and ShemarooMe as a part of the offering, in addition to 3-months of Amazon Prime subscription at no extra cost

* Tata Sky Binge+ brings linear TV and best of the OTT apps onto a single television screen

 

Standing true to its objective of providing customers an upgraded and immersive content viewing experience, Tata Sky announced a new and improved offer on Tata Sky Binge+ - India’s next-generation Android set-top box. Introduced at a subsidised rate of Rs. 3,999, the new offer will enable subscribers to watch both linear channels (broadcast via satellite) and OTT content (via internet) from popular apps on their TV screen using a single remote.

Speaking on the occasion, Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial & Content Officer, Tata Sky said, “Entertainment consumption is evolving rapidly. As content becomes multi-platform, we are constantly pushing the envelope to expand our expertise so that we can take content to our viewers through whichever touchpoint they are most attuned to. Bringing the strengths of traditional DTH with next-generation features and the world of OTT content together, the fully integrated Tata Sky Binge+ device delivers an enriched viewing experience, with the highest image quality and a consistent end-user experience on their TV screens.”

Additionally, Tata Sky Binge+ enables viewers to play any show, movie, music, game on their laptop, tablet or mobile phone and watch-it-directly on their TV with its in-built Chromecast feature. Empowered by first in class technology, Tata Sky Binge+ also includes Google Assistant that makes discovering content easy, using the voice search feature thereby allowing access to plethora of games and apps available on Google Play store. It is compatible with all types of TVs including 4K, HD LED, LCD, or plasma technology as it supports HDMI output and can also be connected to older TV sets over audio and video cable.

Priced at Rs. 3999/-, Tata Sky Binge+  provides the benefit of six months OTT content that the user can watch on their STBs including 7 days missed shows and access to 3 months Amazon Prime subscription at no additional cost.

Hyundai Reinforces Commitment to ‘Make in India’ with More Than 5 000 Export Units in May 2020

Make in India

* Emphasizes on localization to accelerate economic recovery

* First Manufacturer to roll-out fastest 3 Million Made-in-India Export Cars Since Inception

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), country’s First Smart Mobility Solutions provider and the largest exporter since inception, reinforced its commitment to support the Government’s ‘Make in India’ vision with more than 5 000 export units for May 2020.

In line with the Government’s vision of ‘Self-reliant’ India and to support the State and Central Government’s objective of promoting economic revival, Hyundai began production at its plant on May 8 producing more than 5 000 units for export market.

Speaking about Hyundai’s Export Strategy, Mr. S S Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “We began our export operations in India in 1999 with an objective to propagate ‘Make in India – Made for the World’. In line with our global strategy, we have now exported more than 3 Million vehicles to 88 countries which reaffirm our commitment to the country.”

“We have once again made a humble beginning towards normalcy by exporting more than 5 000 units in May 2020. This is a testimony of Hyundai’s resilient efforts towards localization and to accentuate economic recovery. Drawing strength from Hyundai’s vision of ‘Progress for Humanity’ we will continue to offer all-round premium experience to our customers through our quality products, both in India and global markets”, he added.

In the last 20 years, since inception, Hyundai has cemented its position as the leading exporter of passenger cars exporting more than 3 Million vehicles. In CY 2019, Hyundai Motor India exported 181 200 units with 792 Customized variants according to country specific preference and demand. With a market share of 26% in CY 2019 to the total exports of passenger cars from India has made Hyundai a significant contributor to the Indian automobile industry.

Currently, Hyundai Motor India is exporting 10 trendsetting models namely – ATOS (SANTRO), GRAND i10, XCENT, GRAND i10 (NIOS) & GRAND i10 (AURA), ELITE i20, i20 ACTIVE, ACCENT (VERNA), VENUE and All New CRETA. Globally, Hyundai Exports ‘Made-In-India’ cars to 88 Countries in 4 Continents - Latin America (33 Countries), Africa (28 Countries), Asia Pacific (26 Countries) and Europe (1 Country).

During the successful export journey, Hyundai Motor India has won prestigious 7 EEPC National and 5 South Region Awards as Top Exporter of Year for Large Enterprise category.

Best Measures Adopted at "Airtel Stores for Customer Safety" in India

Bharti Airtel Limited, the leading global telecommunications company has undertaken personalized security & hygienic measures and will be offering best in class customer experience at all its stores across the city. In order to connect to its customers at a deeper level, the stores have been operating in a highly organized and controlled environment post the graded lockdown. The Airtel stores / relationship centers have been governed with stringent SOPs with measurable accountability.

Safety measures adopted for Store operations:

* All stores are opened with limited working hours

* All CRO & Store managers are wearing gloves and masks all the times

* The Greeter provides sanitiser to the customers outside the store

* Zoning yellow lines have been placed on the floor around the consultation hubs/cash desk

* Customers and staff remain within the respective zones

* A minimum distance of 3 feet is maintained between customer and Staffer.

* Traditional way (Namaste) is followed to greet customer. Strictly no handshake.

* Usage of customer & other CROs mobile phone/tablet are avoided - If it is unavoidable, CRO to use hand sanitizer after touching other person mobile/tablet or else use Gloves.

* We have revived the ways of customer engagement through digitalization like contactless payments to curtail contamination risk.

* Health, hygiene, and safety have been given the utmost priority at all Airtel Stores.

Our cautious steps will ensure our customers are in safe hands We are sure that these measures will enhance awareness and instil confidence in our customers.

Space Launch: Watch Live NASA Launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Capsule on June 08, 9 PM IST on Discovery and Science Channel

Discovery and Discovery Plus announced their plans to document history in the making at the NASA launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 PM EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The event marks the first crewed space mission to be launched into orbit from U.S. soil since 2011. SPACE LAUNCH: AMERICA RETURNS TO SPACE, a multiplatform event, will take viewers inside the launch, set to be showcased on Discovery, Science Channel on June 08 at 9 PM. Viewers can also stream the show by downloading Discovery Plus app. The multiplatform event will also feature some of the biggest names in entertainment with appearances by global superstar Katy Perry, TV and Internet personality Adam Savage, former NASA engineer and YouTube sensation Mark Rober and other surprise celebrity guests. It will also include expert insight by former astronauts Mike Massimino and Karen Nyberg; active astronauts Jessica Meir and K. Megan McArthur and; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine as well as an interview with Astronaut Chris Cassidy from the International Space Station (ISS).

“Discovery and Science Channel have spent over a year documenting SpaceX’s race to become the first private company to launch American astronauts into space. Our special offers both incredible access for the launch, and expert insight from SpaceX Founder and Chief Engineer Elon Musk and other leading aerospace professionals. In our two-hour documentary, we show the unbelievable engineering and scientific feats achieved by SpaceX in making such an historic launch happen,” said Scott Lewers, Executive Vice President of Multiplatform Programming, Factual & Head of Content, Science. “In these unprecedented times of isolation, we are excited to bring our viewers together to experience this event in a way they won’t see anywhere else, in the comfort of their own homes.”

The multiplatform event will take viewers along the mission to launch veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission, known as Demo-2, will use a Falcon 9 rocket, also built by SpaceX, to propel it. Discovery and Science Channel coverage will feature commentary from astronauts, engineers and other special guests, as well as unprecedented coverage during launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. 

The broadcast and accompanying two-hour documentary are made in partnership with The Washington Post and staff writer Christian Davenport, whose depth of experience allowed him to gain inside access to key players – including a rare in-depth interview with SpaceX Founder and Chief Engineer Elon Musk – and captures their incredible stories about this historic space achievement.

Washington Post reporter and Peabody award-winning journalist Christian Davenport is one of the country’s leading chroniclers of the space industry. His background and experience will add keen insight to the day’s event, as a co-host of the broadcast.

Davenport joined The Post in 2000 and was on a team that won a Peabody Award in 2010 for its work on veterans with traumatic brain injuries and has been on reporting teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize three times. He is the author of two books, “The Space Barons: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos” (2018) and “As You Were: To War and Back with the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard” (2009). He has also served as a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a fellow at the Alicia Patterson Foundation. 

TV personality Chris Jacobs will host the three-hour special from Los Angeles. Jacobs has a long history with Discovery network live events, reporting live on-the-ground for EXPEDITION UNKNOWN: EGYPT LIVE as well as serving as the digital host during Nik Wallenda’s tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon in SKYWIRE LIVE and in Chicago for SKYSCRAPER LIVE. Jacobs was host for DISCOVERY LIVE: INTO THE BLUE HOLE, CHOPPER LIVE, GOLD RUSH LIVE and the live broadcast of the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction for Velocity (now MotorTrend). In addition, he is the regular host for TLC’s LONG LOST FAMILY and serves as host of the popular automotive makeover show OVERHAULIN’ on MotorTrend.

Emmy Award-winning journalist David Kerley will also be part of the reporting team on the ground at Kennedy Space Center. Kerley has reported on aviation, railroads, the automobile industry and space for all ABC News broadcast and digital properties since 2004, including "World News Tonight," "Good Morning America," "Nightline," ABC News Radio and ABCNews.com. His work has been recognized with Peabody and Edward R. Murrow awards as well as the prestigious Joan Barone award from the Capitol Hill Radio and Television Correspondents Association.

The networks are also announcing a special 2-hour documentary NASA & SPACEX: JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE featuring exclusive access to the incredible journey leading up to this launch, airing Friday, June 12 at 7PM IST on Discovery, Science Channel and Discovery Plus. The film crew was granted unprecedented access to NASA and to SpaceX headquarters – giving viewers a rare glimpse inside Launch Control and first-hand accounts from SpaceX Founder and Chief Engineer Elon Musk, Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. The documentary reveals the behind-the-scenes action with the teams of SpaceX engineers, NASA employees and scientists as they fulfill the SpaceX mission to “fly, test, and fix” their way to the ISS – with the goal of eventually flying to the moon and to Mars.

SPACE LAUNCH: AMERICA RETURNS TO SPACE is produced for Discovery Channel by Storied Media Group. Executive producers for Storied Media Group are Aaron Fishman, Todd Hoffman and Michael Miller. For Discovery Channel, Executive Producers are Wyatt Channell, Gretchen Eisele, Scott Lewers and Caroline Perez. To learn more, go to www.discovery.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/discovery and on Twitter @Discovery.

End of Lockdown 3.0 - Delhi Citizens Display Outstanding Mental Wellbeing Index, Ahmedabad is at lowest: TRA Whitepaper

Mental Wellbeing is measured as a person’s ability to cope with various worries they may encounter. It is the sum of the cognitive, behavioural, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of a person. Worries may be real or imagined, but the easiest way to explain worry is as ‘advancement of anxiety’. Coping counterbalances worry, and it is a person’s ability to deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties successfully or in an adequate manner. During a serious and continued crisis like the current lockdown, the coping ability may increase or decrease against worries depending on several personal and environmental factors.  The first edition of TRA’s whitepaper Coronavirus Consumer Insights – 1 was published on 24th April 2020. This whitepaper compares the change Mental Wellbeing of citizens from Lockdown 1.0 to Lockdown 3.0.

N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, India’s leading consumer insights and brand analytics company said, “Delhi (NCR) citizens display an ‘Outstanding’ rating in the Mental Wellbeing Index, with the citizenry’s coping skills bettering their worries. Guwahati at 89% MWBI and Hyderabad at 82% MWBI both display ‘Excellent’ Mental Wellbeing. Indore displays an unchanged MWBI score at 76% and continues to display ‘Good’ Mental Wellbeing.”

Ahmedabad displays the lowest Mental Wellbeing at 25% followed by Chennai at 28% and Kolkata, facing the dual crises of Covid-19 and Amphan is at 29% MWBI. Along with these cities, Nagpur (36%), Kochi (37%) and Coimbatore (39%) also display ‘Very Poor’ Mental Wellbeing, Chandramouli added.

Dr. Jalpa Bhuta, Consultant Psychiatrist, practicing at Global Hospital and Hinduja Khar, observed, “The study shows that cities like Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are not coping too well as compared to most others and combined health and economic anxieties are more prominent in these cities. It is important for authorities to invest in more detailed studies of citizens’ mental wellbeing to address these issues. Mental health is as important as physical and economic wellbeing, but being a silent problem, it often gets overlooked. The need of the hour for everyone is to keep a positive attitude, high resilience and a strong spiritual faith, all of which contribute to coping ability and mental wellbeing.”

Four cities showed improved Mental Wellbeing between Lockdown 1.0 and Lockdown 3.0. Delhi (NCR) was leading and the city displays Outstanding Mental Wellbeing at 107% with Coping higher than Worry. The city also shows the highest rise in Mental Wellbeing Index (rise of 44%) from Lockdown 1.0. Lucknow showed a 27% improvement in the Mental Wellbeing Index to now display Good on the MWBI scale. Mumbai has a rise in MWBI of 26%, though still at a Poor on the MWBI metric. Hyderabad is the only other city where Mental Wellbeing Index has shown a rise of 18%, rising from Good to Excellent Mental Wellbeing. All other cities either did not show any change in the MWBI or showed a decrease in Mental Wellbeing.

The City Mental Wellbeing heatmap shows the data in a different format, clearly showing the deterioration of Mental Wellbeing in a majority of the cities with significant exceptions as stated in the above paragraph (Green indicates better MWBI, and colour changes progressively toward Red showing worse MWBI).

Singapore Tourism Board and Zouk Reinvent the Digital Experience with Zouk Phuturescapes

Party virtually with DJ Diplo, DJ Christina Novelli, DJ San Holo and many more popular artistes such as DJ Nash D, DJ LeNERD, DJ Che’Molly, DJ KoFlow, Jasmine Sokko, Benjamin Kheng, DJ duo Rave Republic, Yung Raja and DJ Inquisitive this weekend (29 to 31 May 2020)! The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has teamed up with Asia’s iconic nightclub Zouk Singapore to organise Zouk Phuturescapes – a series of virtual parties for audiences around the world.

STB and Zouk take virtual parties to the next level by reinventing the existing entertainment and nightlife concept, engaging audiences at home through a curated line-up of local and international DJs and musicians, as well as innovative technology elements such as augmented reality filters and 3D virtual backgrounds.

Comprising three virtual parties, Phuturescapes will kick off in the United States on 29th May, followed by Asia and Australia on 30th May, and the United Kingdom on 31st May. Up to 1,000 guests can register for each party, hosted on video conferencing platform Zoom. The parties will also be streamed live on both brands’ Facebook and YouTube pages[1].

The parties will feature both local and international DJs and musicians, including international headliners like American DJ Diplo and British DJ Christina Novelli.

On the local front, popular artists such as Zouk’s resident DJs LeNERD and Che’Molly, as well as DJ KoFlow, rapper Yung Raja and singer-songwriter Jasmine Sokko will perform, showcasing Singapore’s diverse music scene to local and overseas audiences.

To add an interactive element to the parties, STB and Zouk have worked with VICE to create augmented reality (AR) filters on Instagram. One of these AR filters will feature an avatar of Diplo against a 3D virtual background of Gardens by the Bay. Audiences will be able to capture content of themselves enjoying the parties, layer the AR filters over the content for a fun touch, and post on Instagram.

Moderators will also use Zoom functions such as Poll to have contest giveaways; and Spotlight to feature selected audience members grooving to the beat.

Here is the schedule for India:

Date                                       Timing                                        Artistes

30th May 2020, Saturday       8.30 am                   Diplo, Yung Raja, Inquisitive, LeNERD

30th May 2020, Saturday       5.30 pm                   San Holo, Benjamin Kheng, KoFlow, Nash D, Mambo Jambo

31st May 2020, Sunday         9.30 pm                   Christina Novelli, Rave Republic, Jasmine Sokko, Che’Molly