TALC Launches EQ-Based Mentoring Initiative “New Age Schooling” for the First Time in India

Key Points

* A first-of-its-kind initiative aims to impart academic curriculum along with the knowledge of Indian traditions and values of emotional sensitivity and stability

* A pioneering initiative for the academically inclined children

* A school which values emotional and intellectual safety of the child where parents are an integral part of the school

Child sensitised, well-trained, strong and intelligent teaching team with graduation and post-graduation from psychology and humanitarian science

* Takes new age schooling to unparalleled heights with its child sensitivity module

TALC (The Alternative Learning Community), India’s pioneering Child Centric initiative from an Indian entity founded by Latha Gangadharan, today announced the launch of country’s first-ever “EQ-based Mentoring Initiative – New Age Schooling”, a child centric & child sensitized education centre in Bengaluru. This unique program caters to children with both regular and special needs in the age group 4 to 18 years. Their “B-M-I” model (“Body- Mind-Intellect”) helps the child grow into a smart and happy individual with strong EQ & intellect. 

The admission of the child is based on the both the parent and the child’s abilities – the parents’ conviction and acceptance of their child’s uniqueness and desrie to be respected and understood and thereby mentored in a way that suits the child. 

At TALC, we respect and value human sentiments; we firmly believe that social and emotional involvement/engagement plays a vital role in the child’s overall development and learning. Comprising a team of experts in the area of child sensitivity, supplemented with strong research findings and a never-stop spirit, they’ve found the root of the problem to be emotional detachment from the process the child engages in, thereby negatively affecting his learning and academic progress. This is where our Child Centric education comes in, as the focus is ultimately on what matters the most – the child.

Identifying the gap in today’s education, TALC brings a new and innovative manner of delivering the NCERT curriculum and caters to the need of their children by developing their self-esteem, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We Indians have found international success and are global leaders because of the high EQ and intellect inculcated from the early stages. Moreover, our tagline – “I am who I am! “ – reflects the very purpose of this initiative, that is to be emotionally available to each and every child and ensure they are personally understood, mentored and guided to evolve as a powerful individual with a diverse skillset. This includes certification from two boards – NIOS & IGCSE, for which they would appear for their certification exams as private candidates. TALC steps in to facilitate the child to be fully prepared for the exams with the required ground work and conceptual clarity at the highest level. 

Children with emotional difficulties tend to face challenges in learning. It is therefore TALC’s BMI model addresses this very issue. A first-of-its kind, TALC with its highly sensitized group of mentors and teachers, all from the field of humanities and psychology face only one challenge – their students never want the day to end!

Talking about the launch, Ms. Latha Gangadharan, Founder, TALC, said, “We are excited to officially launch this brand-new initiative which has been developed based on the current needs to create meaningful education that integrates not only the child and teacher but also parents and other experts who are deeply committed towards the child’s progress”.

She added, “Keeping the current situation in mind, we have taken an alternative step and introduced ‘Personalised Online Classes’ in order to provide need-based solutions to our children. Despite any obstacle that comes our way, we focus on the mission of delivering personalized, child-centric education to our students”

We understand the range of concerns that parents are facing in this pandemic situation and do not wish for the continuity of their child’s education and progress to be one of them, solidifying the mission in their hearts of delivering resourceful, quality and personalized education to their children. 

The regular classes are scheduled to commence in August 2020 and application and prospectus would be available in the TALC Administration Office until June 30th 2020. Admissions close by July 25, 2020.

Manipal Hospitals Bangalore Overcomes Hurdles, Unite to Perform a One-Of-A-Kind Kidney Transplantation

In a heartwarming case, amidst the nationwide lockdown, 43- year old patient suffering from kidney failure due to familial kidney disease was successfully treated by a team of passionate doctors at Manipal Hospitals Bangalore. The patient had multiple complications and was in urgent need of kidney transplant and required blood for the surgery.

Since the surgery was organized at short notice and collecting blood would take time, doctors at Manipal Hospitals came forward to donate blood in order to ensure seamless surgery without any hurdles and hence Dr Ravi Jangamani, Dr Vishwanath and Dr Saurabh Kishte came together for this noble cause. Nephrologist Dr Ravi Jangamani along with a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Urologists Dr Deepak Dubey, Dr. Shivashankar R and Dr. Somanna, CTVS surgeon Dr. Devananda NS and team along with anaesthesiologist Dr. Navneetan were involved in this complex kidney transplantation.

The patient, a resident of Kolkata was suffering from a familial kidney disease called Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD), leading to kidney failure. His condition worsened during the lockdown. He had huge kidneys due to ADPKD and there was no space for the kidney transplantation.

“This was one of the most technically challenging kidney transplants one can imagine. Coupled with this challenge, was the anxiety related to the Covid 19 infection around us.  The patient had diseased blood vessels and the only option was to use a synthetic graft. The technique used, was one of the firsts of its kind in scientific literature. The operation and post-operative management was possible due to a determined and tireless effort between multiple teams of doctors”, says Dr Deepak Dubey, HOD & Consultant – Urology, Robotic Surgery and Renal Transplantation, Manipal Hospitals Old Airport Road.

He also had bad blood vessels with 90% narrowing of lower Aorta leading to poor blood supply in the lower part of the body making it difficult for kidney transplantation. With all these, his condition was deteriorating with severe anemia and poorly functioning heart, needing four times week dialysis. This caused a huge financial burden on the patient as well during the lockdown period.

Dr Devananda N S, HOD & Consultant - Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Heart and Lung Transplant Surgery said, “This patient had unique challenges. He had low blood flow to both his legs and at the same time needed a kidney transplant. Doing one without the other would have made treatment incomplete. With our innovation and team work, we could give him the best treatment he deserved. Quality medical care is all about this”.

Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman Manipal Hospitals said, “This was a challenging task indeed as on one side we have doctors battling the corona crisis and on the other side, we have doctors who have displayed compassion, kindness and humanity as the doctors went beyond their call of duty to save the patient. This noble gesture by the team of doctors is especially commendable considering the pandemic, we are really proud of our doctors for their humble gesture. The kidney transplant was an extremely complex surgery and therefore was performed in two stage, in the first stage, his huge polycystic Kidneys were removed to create space for the transplant kidney. In the second stage, his bad blood vessels were corrected and kidney transplantation was done simultaneously”

Dr Ravi Jangamani, Consultant Nephrologist at the Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road said, “This is an extremely critical condition. The only solution left was removal affected kidneys to make space and correct the blood vessels and then perform the Kidney transplantation.  However, the surgery was complex and risky. We are on a nationwide lockdown battling a contagious coronavirus pandemic and hence needed to go beyond our capabilities to help and treat the patient. Along with medical challenges due to the complex nature of the disease, we also were facing logistic challenges. The lockdown leads to a shortage of blood donors and unavailability of blood in blood banks. Even though the patient’s blood group was O+, a common blood group, it was difficult to source it and perform this complex surgery.

He further added, we used the state of art synthetic graft (blood channel) to bypass the damaged aorta and restored the blood supply to lower part of the body. We used the same technique to establish a successful blood supply to the transplant kidney also. In this covid pandemic, all the precautions were taken to prevent the infection in the pre- operative, intra-operative and post-operative care by maintaining a covid free corridor. The surgery was performed successfully and was the first of its kind kidney transplantation done at Manipal Hospitals and currently the patient is stable.

Ragini, Anupama and Anushree Visit Bounce, Bodycraft, and YLG Salons as Part of Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon Program

While salons are now open in Bengaluru, citizens are seeking assurance for safety and hygiene measures at salons. This could impact footfalls for salon industry, which is already burdened with over two months of no business. To support the salon industry during these testing times and address concerns of the people, actress Ragini Dwivedi, Anupama Gowda, and Anushree visited Bengaluru’s Bounce, Bodycraft and YLG salon chains respectively. This visit was organised by Godrej Professional as part of Suraksha Salon program, aiming to support salons with safety and well-being of customers and staff along with facilitating smooth post-lockdown operations. The three actresses themselves got a haircut at Bounce, Bodycraft and YLG salons and were impressed with the safety measures adopted.

Commenting on the support for the salon industry and her visit to Bounce salon, actress Ragini Dwivedi, said, “While people do want to visit salons, they have certain inhibitions involved as salons are high on tactile communication. I wanted to understand how the salons are implementing these measures on-ground and I was thrilled with the results. Right from my entry into the salon to the end of my appointment, salon ensured hygiene protocols are not compromised. I will urge people to visit salons without any fear and support the industry when it is needed the most.”

While allowing salons to open, Karnataka’s Department of Health & Family Welfare issued standard operating procedure which salons have to strictly abide. To boost public confidence, it is important to showcase how salons have opened up with proper safety measures in place. Ragini, Anupama and Anushree experienced hygiene measures at salons first-hand through this visit organised under Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon program. Known for its hair care, colour and styling products used by salons, Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon is helping salons in Bengaluru and many other cities get back to business and providing necessary guidance, resources and updates to salon owners.

Sharing her perspective on why she chose to visit the salon, Anupama Gowda, said, “Salon chains suffered deeply with no business for more than two months. With the lockdown being lifted, there are valid safety concerns amongst people who plan to re-visit salons. Thus, I decided to personally visited salon chains and experience safety measures instituted on-ground. I was happy to see that safety is a major priority for salons and people can be rest assured of it.”

“Although the salon chains had been severely impacted owing to the lockdown, I was really happy to see hygiene for both customers and staff becoming a topmost priority for salons now. After more than two months of lockdown, it was great to have my hair taken care of by professionals. It will be a win-win experience for salons and customers when both follow safety guidelines and adhere to the new norms mandated”, added, TV star and actress Anushree.

Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon is a nation-wide program including Bengaluru, aiming to support the salon industry as it moves to the new normal. Under the program, Godrej Professional has donated 15,000 litres of sanitizers and 10,000 re-usable masks for the well-being of the stylists. In addition, it is continuing to support salons with sanitizer & disposable kits for salon safety in a non-profit manner. The brand has curated ‘Suraksha Guidelines’, a comprehensive module on safety and hygiene, co-created with an expert with more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and hospitality sanitization. To address concerns about re-starting salon operations and avail sanitisation products on priority, a Salon Suraksha helpline is also setup under the program. This program is open for the entire fraternity and will support more than 10000 salons.

Jio to Offer One Year of Amazon Prime Membership at No Additional Cost to its JioFiber Customers

Amazon has announced its collaboration with Jio, India’s largest and fastest growing digital service company, to provide JioFiber subscribers access to premium content on Amazon Prime Video app on its set-top box. In addition, Jio will offer one year of Prime membership worth INR 999 a year to JioFiber customers on Gold and above broadband plans, at no extra cost.  Through this deal, JioFiber customers can now seamlessly access the Amazon Prime Video app on their TV and enjoy Amazon’s latest and exclusive blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian regional movies, top TV shows, stand-up comedies, kids programs, including critically acclaimed Indian and global Amazon Originals.

JioFiber customers, on Gold plans and above, can activate their Annual Amazon Prime Membership by signing in using their Amazon account or create a new Amazon account through their Jio Set-top box and by logging into MyJio app or Jio.com.  Customers who are not eligible can simply recharge with JioFiber Gold and above plan to avail the offer. Existing Amazon Prime Members can directly sign-in to the Amazon Prime Video app on their Jio Set-top-box and start watching Prime Video’s wide selection of content including critically acclaimed Indian Amazon Originals like Paatal Lok, Four More Shots Please! The Family Man, Mirzapur and much-loved global Originals like Jack Ryan, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Boys amongst many others.

“We are delighted to work with Jio to make Amazon Prime membership available to Jio Fiber customers” said Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Country General Manager, Amazon Prime Video India. “With the annual Prime membership consumers will have access to the full bouquet of Prime benefits - unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive video content, free and fast shipping, access to exclusive deals, ad-free music on Amazon Music, unlimited reading through Prime Reading and mobile gaming content with Prime Gaming.  At Amazon, we constantly strive to offer customers, the best-in-class entertainment. With this launch, we will further extend the reach and access of Amazon Prime Video in India, giving more customers the experience of watching our broad selection of popular Amazon Originals, blockbuster movies, Indian as well as international shows, on their TV sets.”

“Our partnership with Amazon Prime Video opens up a new world of entertainment for JioFiber customers. Jio continues to provide an enriched experience to its customers and this tie-up enable JioFiber users avail one year of Amazon Prime membership at no extra cost” Anshuman Thakur, Head of Strategy, Jio,  said in a statement.

About Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies including Gulabo Sitabo, Thappad, Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhaan, Bharat, Dabangg 3, Good Newwz, Mardaani 2, Bhoot, Indian language titles including AB Aani CD, Hit (The First Case), Maharshi, Dharala Prabhu, Darbar, Madha, Sufna, Maya Bazaar 2016, Trance, Shylock, Love Mocktail, Luv Ni Love Storys, Saaho, Pattas, Professor Shanku O El Dorado, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Dia, Choricha Maamla, Jallikattu, Kumbalangi Nights, Dear Comrade, Virus, Cheel Zadap, Chal Mera Putt, Triple Seat  and TV shows, stand-up comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and critically acclaimed Amazon Originals including Paatal Lok, Four More Shots Please! – Season 1 and 2, The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye, The Family Man, Made In Heaven, Mirzapur, Comicstaan, Inside Edge Season 1 and 2, global Originals like Upload, Hunters, The Boys, Good Omens, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, all available, ad-free, with a world-class customer experience. The service includes titles available in Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi and Bengali.

To watch the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for an Amazon Prime membership only at ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly.

About Jio

Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology (through its wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited). It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio will bring transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.3 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in the digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising of network, devices, applications and content, platforms, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always. Jio makes India the highest quality, most affordable data market in the world so that every Indian can do Datagiri.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Announces Special Financing, Buy Backs and Other Offers for June 2020

Apart from announcing ‘Special Service Schemes’ for servicing a Toyota vehicle earlier this week, TKM today shared details of finance schemes available for new car purchase for the month of June 2020.

As a special offer, all Toyota BS6 models feature finance deals that come with deferred EMI payment for upto 90 days on all purchase made this month. Additionally, the company has also announced assured buybacks on Yaris and Glanza models.

TKM has also closely worked with its finance partners to offer payment relief plans to aspiring customers. All models now come with a zero down payment option. In addition, buyers can also avail EMI scheme which is as low as Rs. 899 per lac for first 6 months, across Toyota models.  

Speaking on the unique set of offerings, Mr. Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President, Sales and Services, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “Our finance schemes are in-line with TKM’s endeavor to offer innovative solutions that match the evolving expectations of our customers. As the pressures of uncertainty continue, we want to ease and encourage all car buyers to fulfill the entire family's transportation needs. We hope the finance schemes enable customers to realise their dreams with Toyota’s promise of an assured peace of mind.”

New Virtual Pet Game My Talking Tom Friends Is Now Available Worldwide

Outfit7 Limited announced the launch of its new virtual pet game My Talking Tom Friends, now available to download worldwide on iOS and Android. The eagerly awaited new game from the award-winning Talking Tom and Friends franchise brings a never-before-seen approach to the genre, uniting all six iconic characters in a play-as-you-want sandbox experience. Fans around the world couldn't wait to play the revolutionary new game, with 13 million pre-registering before the launch – a record-breaking achievement for the company.

“With My Talking Tom Friends, our goal was to take the popular virtual pet genre and reinvent it. We wanted to go far out and deliver something that sweeps people off their feet,” said Xinyu Qian, CEO of Outfit7.

“For the first time ever, we created an environment where our fans can play with not one, but multiple characters at the same time – in whatever ways they choose! This offers a practically limitless array of possibilities, providing a unique playing experience for each and every user. We are all very excited to see what will become of it in the hands of our fans.”

With Talking Becca – the newest addition to the franchise – joining Talking Tom, Talking Angela, Talking Hank, Talking Ben, and Talking Ginger, players can now tend to the needs and wishes of all six characters at once, and help them live their fascinating lives.

The friends are dynamic, moving around the open, scrollable house, looking for ways to have fun. Players can engage with them and take part in fun activities like cooking, painting, gardening, and socializing. There’s also a suite of brand new, action-packed mini-games to discover. Impressive interactive options allow fans to explore and customize the vivid, beautifully-designed virtual world at will.

For the chance to create your own unique stories of friendship and fun, download My Talking Tom Friends for free from Google Play and App Store.

CarDekho Reports 99% Surge in Traffic for Pre-Owned Cars Post Lockdown in Indian Market

Pre-Owned Cars 

* 99% of used car traffic recovered whereas 77 % of new car traffic recovered

* Traffic from Orange and Green Zones for new cars recovered 84 %

* Highest recovery rate of products between INR 1-5 lakh in new cars segment

* INR 2-5 lakh segment in pre-owned cars fully recovered post-lockdown

CarDekho, the leading full-stack auto company has reported 99% recovery in customer traffic for used car segment after the lockdown whereas 77% customers are back to search for new cars. A study conducted by the company shows that with the lifting of the lockdown, there is a  major shift in customers preferences across the segments, with hatchback and low-budget being the most sought-after cars across segments.

The traffic from Orange and Green Zones for new cars PAN India has recovered 84 % where as from red zones it has recovered 58% ; It signifies the customer sentiments improving strongly in Green and Orange zone with Red Zone fast catching up as customer search for their desired car has now resumed.

As per the report, the recovery rate of cars in the INR 1-5 lakh segment is the highest. Among SUVs, INR 5-15 lakh segment has the highest share, whereas sedans in the INR 15-20 lakh range are the most searched cars. MUVs within the price range of INR 10 lakh has been most sought during this period; the premium segment share has low volume (10%) and a very low recovery rate (50%). Further, Maruti and Tata cars are most searched by consumers, with Maruti having 23% share in new car traffic and Honda the highest share in the mid-segment cars with 7% share in traffic. The rest have 4-5% each.

The study was conducted between 17th Feb – 17th March, termed as the pre-lockdown period; the mid-lockdown period between mid-March till mid- April; and post-lockdown between 12th May to 28th May. It was also seen that the traffic from the Orange zone for used cars was the highest, with most coming from Karnataka. In the Red Zone, traffic from Maharashtra region for pre-owned cars was the highest.

Says Mr Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO CarDekho, “Pre, mid and post-lockdown periods have impacted car traffic across the segments. New car and used car business have seen transformations in the consumer journey. The pandemic outbreak has changed people preferences and we believe they will opt for personal mobility solutions rather than shared mobility. We are now seeing a very fast recovery of consumer traffic on CarDekho with preferences for budget-friendly options. The used cars traffic has recovered by 99% and new car traffic by 77% showing that the market is now getting ready for actual business. We are hopeful that the sales recovery will also be fast with the lifting of the lockdown.” 

About CarDekho:

CarDekho Group, headquartered in Jaipur, was founded in 2008 and has footprints in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The group currently operates various leading Indian auto portals such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, InsuranceDekho.com, PowerDrift.com and more. It recently launched an online insurance portal (www.insurancedekho.com) offering services in motor and health insurance and its CarDekho Gaadi stores serve as the one-stop destination for selling pre-owned cars. The group also pioneered specialized portals such as TyreDekho.com and TrucksDekho.com. In 11 years, the company has seen a phenomenal uptake and is now recognized in India as the largest automotive video content player with 2 million+ YouTube subscribers, the largest consumer-facing digital destination with 41 million monthly unique visitors, and the largest auto social media platform. In 2016, the company expanded its presence in Indonesia under the brand name OTO, which has become the number one auto site in the country. It recently acquired the Philippines operations of Carmudi thereby expanding its operations to two Southeast Asian countries. CarDekho has raised funding from marquee investors including Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Ping An, Sunley House, CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Times Internet, Trifecta, Ratan Tata, Times Internet Limited, Kreatif Media Karya and Dentsu.