LEAD School Recommends School Reopening Plan to HRD Ministry, Central and State Boards

Ahead of the Human Resource Development Ministry issuing guidelines to help schools plan their reopening, LEAD School, which is running the largest online school in the country, has submitted its recommendations to the Ministry, Central and State Boards. LEAD School also released the Post Lockdown School Handbook for the benefit of all schools across India to help them plan and prepare for reopening.

Amid the norms of social distancing set by the Government of India, the Handbook guides schools in running the essential activities ranging from school transport, classroom seating, offline-online learning, academic year planning and outdoor activities. It also focuses on health and hygiene and responsibilities of school, teachers, parents and students.

Key suggestions from the Handbook include:

* Adopting cloud based system to help schools integrate online-offline learning

* Alternate Day School or Double Shift School to maintain social distancing and reduce operational cost

* Starting academic year by June end online or increasing academic year duration to avoid learning loss during the year.

* Advanced planning of assessments and staggered evaluations

* Maintaining 6 feet distance in seating through one student per desk or two per medium desk or three per long desk with one empty seat between each student. Similar vacant seating practices to be followed in school transport

* Opting for non-contact games and activities like Yoga, Aerobics, Hopscotch, Athletics or minimal contact games like Badminton, Table Tennis among others

* Staggered lunch breaks and supervised lunch in the classroom for younger students

* Tie-up with local hospital or nursing home; on campus or on call availability of medical attendant

Sumeet Mehta, Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer, LEAD School said, “For schools, the post-lockdown challenges can be solved when they work along with parents, teachers, education department and local governments to create safe and healthy environment. LEAD School has prepared a comprehensive Handbook to help schools deliver excellent learning while taking care of the safety and health of their students and staff on reopening. The handbook contains a checklist that every school can use to prepare for the Post-Lockdown period.”

LEAD School created the roadmap for schools to handle any disruption in operations once the lockdown is over. Such disruptions could include heightened concerns of child and staff safety at school, sudden changes in COVID zones or new outbreak of cases, quarantining of students or teacher due to positive cases and any new government measures on social distancing that may hamper school operations.  

The Handbook has been circulated to 800+ schools in 15 states, covering over 3lakh students studying in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities and towns in India.

JK Tyre & Industries Launches Operations in the United States of America

In a concerted move to accelerate its global expansion efforts, the India-headquartered tyre major, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., which is among the world’s top 25 tyre manufacturers, today announced commencement of operations in the United States. JK Tyre has set up a new entity - Western Tires INC – based at Houston, Texas, thereby, embarking upon an aggressive plan to take the Global business to the next level.

JK Tyre has been exporting to the United States for over past two decades through a network of local partners and with the acquisition of JK Tornel and enhancement of capacity at JK Tyre India, there has been a steady growth in the global markets including US. With the formation of the Western Tires INC, the Company now has its own marketing arm for the U.S. that will focus on sales, service and network expansion. To ensure a robust delivery model, the after-sales service will be backed by a team of technical experts from India and Mexico.

Commenting on JK Tyre’s journey in the global markets, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. said, “The United States has been an important export market for us. The fact that we are now setting-up our operations here goes to show the significance of this country in our larger global expansion plans. Our products have been appreciated for superior quality, technological advancements and robustness across the world, and we have received a similar response from our customers in the United States. With our own sales & marketing channel, we are furthering our commitment towards the U.S. market to provide an enhanced delivery and service experience to our customers.” 

JK Tyre’s unmatched value proposition and remarkable product performance has helped the Company gain acceptance in the US market across multiple segments, such as Truck and Bus Radial tyres, passenger car tyres and light truck tyres. The Company is focused on further driving sales in these segments through introduction of new products and enhancement of sales channels.

Simplilearn and California Institute of Technology to Launch Online Post Graduate Program in DevOps

Simplilearn, a global provider of digital skills training, today announced its collaboration with CTME (Caltech’s Center for Technology and Management Education) to offer a specialized Post Graduate Program in DevOps. CTME joins Purdue University and a growing list of higher education partners offering joint professional learning programs with Simplilearn. This is the first of Simplilearn's Post Graduate Programs to be launched simultaneously around the globe.

The Post Graduate Program(PGP)  in DevOps brings together the academic excellence of CTME, the professional education arm of Caltech, with Simplilearn's award-winning Blended Learning delivery model. The Blended Learning environment combines live online classes, self-paced learning, labs and projects, extensive peer-interaction, and 24/7 access to Teaching Assistants (TA's). 

The online program will be offered in India and select international locations to help prepare a global workforce for advances in software engineering. Aspiring developers and technologists will learn essential skills in architecture, coding, and cloud computing.

On completion of the program, learners will have a core understanding of various automation tools for developing digital pipelines (Continuous Integration/Continuous Development) and designs, and implementing software integration across the DevOps lifecycle. Learners will be equipped with the skillset to manage workflow automation through integration and deployment processes, along with front-end and back-end coding skills. 

Along with a comprehensive curriculum that covers the core concepts and the latest industry best practices, the program also provides over 20 live projects to work on, Capstone projects in four industry domains, and Masterclass from experts at CTME. This blended learning approach ensures that the program participants receive an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals and abundant opportunities for hands-on practice and learning.

Speaking on the launch of the program, Anand Narayanan, Chief Product Officer, Simplilearn said, "With rapid technological advancements, the expectation from organizations to expedite delivery of quality tech products and services is a given. It is this need gap that efficient implementation of DevOps can address, also indicating the growing career prospects for DevOps based job roles. At Simplilearn, we use our understanding of the growing sectoral requirements to make our PGP program more comprehensive: we deep-dive into each program module and cover a wide range of related subjects. By introducing the PGP DevOps program in collaboration with CTME, we aim to create a job-ready workforce by equipping learners with industry-specific skills."

"Today, the world is in the process of digital transformation, and professionals urgently need to equip themselves with the right skills to stay ahead of the curve. CTME’s Post Graduate Program, in association with Simplilearn, offers a comprehensive curriculum and provides an opportunity for career growth in the DevOps domain," said Dr. Rick Hefner,  Program Director, CTME. "We are happy to collaborate with a leading digital training company to offer these certificate programs to aspiring engineers and coders. The organizations that harness digital capabilities help spark the innovations that can help society."

On completion of the PGP DevOps program, participants will receive a joint industry-recognized certificate from CTME and Simplilearn, CTME Circle Membership, and be eligible for 25 CEUs (Continued Education Units) that can be applied to professional qualifications and employer development requirements. The program graduates of the PGP will also be enrolled in Simplilearn's JobAssist job placement service.

Bangalore, Claim Your Tata Motors ‘Keys to Safety’ from 5 Authorised Dealerships

Key Highlights:

* Drive home a Tiago for just Rs. 5,000/month

* 100% on road funding on its safest range of cars and SUVs

* Long tenure loans of up to 8 years

* Special benefits for frontline COVID warriors

* Call 18002098282 to now to know more

* Contact your nearest dealership – Prerana Motors, KHT Motors,  Key Motors along with Kropex Auto and Adishakti Cars

Tata Motors, India’s leading auto brand, along with its dealer partners in Bangalore -  Prerana Motors, KHT Motors, Key Motors, Kropex Auto and Adishakti Cars, is inviting customers to claim their ‘Keys to Safety’ - a holistic package of offers on its entire fleet of passenger vehicles including hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs – Tiago, Tigor, Nexon and Harrier. With multiple option for easy financing, affordable EMIs, long tenure loans and special offers for frontline warriors across healthcare, public and essential services,   this package is designed to make personal mobility accessible and affordable for all in times of social distancing.

Customers can now drive home their preferred variant of the 4-star GNCAP safety rated Tata Tiago with a customised EMI plan starting at just Rs.5,000 for 6-months. This EMI amount is applicable on a loan amount of up to Rs. 5 Lakh and gradually increases over a maximum tenure of 5 years. As an additional benefit, customers can choose from three value adding options while paying their final EMI. (i) They can pay their last year’s installment as a bullet EMI in full (approximately Rs.90,000 on the loan of Rs.5 Lakhs) and take full ownership of the vehicle (ii) Return the vehicle to the financing partner Tata Motors Finance, in case of any financial difficulty, or (iii) choose to refinance this final EMI.

On its entire range of cars and SUVs, Tata Motors is offering 100% on road funding. Customers can also take advantage from the long tenure EMI schemes (of up to 8 years) thus lowering the amount of their monthly EMI payment.

Furthermore, to thank and support the brave COVID-19 frontline warriors (doctors, healthcare professionals, essential service providers and police), special benefits of up to Rs. 45,000 are being offered on all cars and SUVs of Tata Motors (except the Altroz).

Speaking about this holistic package of offers, Mr. Suraj Subbarao – Zonal Manager, South, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “At Tata Motors, we manufacture cars that are proudly Indian with international quality, design and safety. In current times with safety as the top priority, our customers in Vishakhapatnam are seeking personal mobility options that are affordable and convenient to avail. Accordingly, we have designed this package to offer choice and enhance their entire experience of owning and driving our safest range of cars & SUVs. To get your hands on the latest Tata cars, call 18002098282 to get details at the earliest.”

More than 400 sales touchpoints and 461 workshops of Tata Motors nationally, including 160 sales outlets and 144 workshops in the southern zone are already operational with a new set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for enhanced safety, defining minimal interactions and maintaining of prudent social distance norms during interactions between customer and dealer staff.

All discussions are being done virtually using digital tools and any in-person meetings, if necessary, are being conducted with prior appointments and post verification of all requirements. Documents for vehicle insurance and registration are being collected via mail or specially installed drop boxes and vehicle deliveries are being done only after all formalities are completed.

Test drives are being offered on demand at the customer’s preferred location. To maintain social distancing, only one person drives the vehicle with a dealer staff member sitting in the rear seat to avoid any physical contact.  Following every test drive, the vehicle is fully sanitized including replacing protective covers shielding the interiors of the vehicle that come in contact while driving.

Tata Motors’ customers can also enquire, request a test drive, make bookings and select their preferred financing option to buy their car of choice via the recently launched ‘Click to Drive’, an end-to-end online sales platform, from the comfort and safety of their homes.

Please Note – All offers are available on the entire BSVI passenger vehicle range, except for the Altroz

For more information, please visit our website https://cars.tatamotors.com/shopping/offers or call the below Bangalore dealerships at their respective phone numbers:

Prerana Motors – 7303763083

KHT Motors – 7303761910

Key Motors – 6366370063

Kropex Auto – 7303763049

Adishakti Cars - 7303763060

Discovery and Discovery Plus to Showcase ‘The Story of Plastic’ on World Environment Day

To be broadcast on Friday, June 05, at 4:30 PM IST on Discovery and Discovery HD Channel. Discovery Plus to stream the show on the same day

This World Environment Day on 5th June 2020, Discovery, Discovery HD and recently launched app Discovery Plus will showcase ‘THE STORY OF PLASTIC’, a look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people that inhabit it. Spanning three continents, the film illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash; rivers and seas clogged with waste; and skies choked with the poisonous emissions from plastic production and processing.

An official selection of Mill Valley Film Festival (Audience Award winner) and 2019 DOC NYC, THE STORY OF PLASTIC features interviews with experts and activists on the frontlines of the fight, revealing the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world –and the global movement rising up in response. With engaging original animation, archival industry footage starting in the 1930s, and first-person accounts of the unfolding emergency, the film distills a complex problem that is increasingly affecting the planet’s and its residents’ well-being.

“The issues highlighted in THE STORY OF PLASTIC illuminate how the decisions made locally can affect us globally,” says Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery and Factual.  “We are eager to highlight the solutions laid out in the film that will help make our world a cleaner and healthier place to live.”

“It was always a priority for us to find the film a home that would amplify the important messages and voices in THE STORY OF PLASTIC,” states filmmaker Deia Schlosberg, “and Discovery is an ideal partner to make that happen. We are absolutely thrilled to work with the team there to bring the film to audiences across the U.S. and beyond.”

“I have been passionate about this issue for over ten years. The Story of Plastic’s film team has worked tirelessly to show us the truth of what plastic is doing to our planet – the whole planet,” explains co-executive producer and award-winning musician Jackson Browne.   “I am proud to be a part of bringing this important film to Discovery.”

THE STORY OF PLASTIC shines a light on the environmental damage and human rights abuses that occur throughout the entire life cycle of plastic – not just once it’s disposed of. The messaging around plastic has for decades been controlled by the plastic producers, who have deliberately focused on plastic waste. The film reveals how the plastics industry is simultaneously blaming wasteful consumers for plastic pollution and aggressively investing to produce more single-use plastic than ever before. Reclaiming the narrative, the film highlights that while cleanup is important to understanding the situation, the real solution lies in stopping the mass production of plastic in the first place. “The plastic crisis doesn’t start when the plastics enter the ocean. It starts when the oil and the gas leave the wellhead, and it keeps on being a problem at every step along the way,” says film subject Carroll Muffett of Center for International Environmental Law.

Beyond illuminating the nature of the crisis, THE STORY OF PLASTIC spotlights the global resistance and network of every-day heroes working internationally to combat this urgent problem, including Capt. Charlie Moore (Algalita Marine Research & Education) who discovered the North Pacific Garbage Patch,  Ellen and Elise Gerhart of Pennsylvania who protested the construction of a fracked gas pipeline through their family’s property, and Yvette Arellano (Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services), who supports communities sitting at the fence-line of the petrochemical corridor along the gulf coast.

The Story of Plastic forcefully identifies a pressing global challenge first identified around 15 years ago.  The film highlights how the actions of one group can affect not only their world but the world of their neighbors on the other side of the globe.  As activist Shibu K. Nahir explains, “Look at our globe: it’s a water world… So if you imagine that we are in a womb filled with water, whatever I do here is going to affect every single life form in this earth… Whether a person in Europe or in US or in India or in Africa or in Philippines or in Indonesia, it’s a life… We need to bring in that kind of a spirit of unity across boundaries, because these toxins do not understand political boundaries.”

Discovery Channel presents THE STORY OF PLASTIC, presented by The Story Of Stuff Project in association with React To Film; original music by Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and Cody Westheimer; directed by Deia Schlosberg; produced by Kyle Cadotte, Megan Ponder and Stiv Wilson; co-executive producers, Dianna Cohen, Jackson Browne, and Seven McDonald; Executive Produced by Stiv Wilson, Coralie Charriol-Paul & Dennis Paul, and Michael O’Heaney.

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.