Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd Wins “Fifth Project”, Signs Order of 106.71 MW, Worth USD62.6 Mn in Chile

Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited (BSE Scrip Code: 542760; NSE Symbol: SWSOLAR), today announced that it has signed an order of 106.71 MW worth USD 62.6 million (~INR 462 crores) in Chile. The order has been received from a global independent power producer (IPP), work for which is expected to begin in Q4 FY 2021.  

Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited, one of the leading solar EPC and O&M players in the world, already has a strong presence in the region with one project of 93.3 MW in Argentina and three projects of 588 MW under construction in Chile. 

Speaking on the project win, Mr. Bikesh Ogra – Director and Global CEO, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited said, “We are excited to win our fifth project in Latin America. Our continuous focus in the market has reaped rich benefits with these prestigious project wins. We have established ourselves in Latin America with a cumulative order book of around USD 488 million (~INR 3,558 crores), making us amongst the leading players in the region.  

Commenting on the Chilean market, Mr. Ogra added, “Chile is one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades thanks to its solid macroeconomic framework. This coupled with a global race to energy transition enables increasing participation of foreign companies in the Chilean renewable energy market making it one of the key focus regions for us.” 

Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited has been executing projects globally and has to its credit more than 10.5 GW of solar power projects (commissioned and under various stages of construction) in various geographies. This portfolio includes a 1,177 MW Solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi - the world’s largest single-site solar plant. The Company also manages a portfolio of 7.8 GW of O&M projects globally, a testament to its best-in-class services. 

About Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited 

Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited, a Shapoorji Pallonji group company, is a global pure-play, end-to-end solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions provider. The Company provides EPC services for utility-scale, rooftop and floating solar power projects with a focus on project design and engineering and manage all aspects of project execution from conceptualizing to commissioning. The Company also provides operations and maintenance (O&M) services, including for projects constructed by third parties and offers solar plus storage solutions to its customers. Present in 25 countries today, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited has operations in India, South-East Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australia. 

Corning Globally Celebrates 50 Years of Low-Loss OFC Innovation

Corning today joined the optical communications industry in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the company’s world-changing invention of low-loss optical fiber. The breakthrough material, each strand thinner than a human hair, made possible today’s ever-faster telecommunications networks that link neighborhoods, connect cities, and bridge continents.

“Our invention of low-loss optical fiber ushered in a communications revolution,” said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, and chief executive officer. “Fifty years ago, few could have imagined the impact of optical fiber on our world today, but that’s what we do at Corning – we create innovations that transform industries, enhance people’s lives, and continue to unleash significant new capabilities.”

Over the past 50 years, that groundbreaking invention has enabled the development of new technologies in data communications, video streaming, cloud computing, and more that enable the connected lifestyle the world is accustomed to today. 

Today, more than ever, people seek to be connected, whether it's with family members in another region, global customers, or massive audiences on social networks. So, to celebrate the birthday of the invention that enables us to FaceTime, text, and connect to the Web – all while on the go -- Corning is taking a moment to reflect on how fiber became a reality.

Corning scientists Drs. Robert Maurer, Donald Keck, and Peter Schultz were brought together more than 50 years ago to develop a highly pure optical glass that could effectively transmit light signals over long distances – a feat that had never been achieved.

In the mid-1960s, it became clear to researchers at the company and to the larger telecommunications industry that the existing copper wire infrastructure used to transfer data and voice would not have enough bandwidth for the projected traffic of the future.

During this time period, members of the British Post Office came to Corning seeking assistance in creating pure glass fiber optics. Their design required a single-mode fiber having a total attenuation – or signal loss -- of about 20 decibels per kilometer.

The very best bulk optical glasses of the day had attenuations of around 1,000 dB/km. This meant the scientists had to see an improvement in transparency of 1098 in order to reach the 20 dB/km goal.

The task seemed impossible, but their successful technological breakthrough forever changed the world.

"This invention started a communications revolution. Corning Optical Communications proudly continues that legacy today." said Michael Bell, senior vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Communications

Dr. Keck recalled the breakthrough, saying: "I knew something was very, very special and unique about this fiber… I hastily measured the results. It was a very short piece of fiber; we thought we got a very good measurement. I recorded in the databook: '17 dB/km, whoopee;' We've met our goal." 

Since that moment on Aug. 7, 1970, Corning has delivered over a billion fiber kilometers and operates several optical fiber plants globally. And even more impressively, this single invention led to what is today Corning's largest business segment – Optical Communications – in which applications such as fiber to the home, indoor wireless technology, and hyperscale data centers are served. 5G accessibility, the cloud, and almost any connection people make today on electronic devices ties back to that moment of discovery.

As they toiled in their lab that summer in 1970, Drs. Maurer, Keck, and Schultz could not have imagined what their discovery would make possible 50 years later. In that same way, today's Optical Communications team that invents, manufactures, and sells Corning's industry-leading fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions can scarcely imagine what this landmark discovery will make possible in the next 50 years. 

Corning invites you to join in the celebration and visit http://www.corning.com/50YearsOfFiber and follow #50YearsofFiber on social media.

Tata Nexon Becomes the First Indian Car to be Published on International Dismantling Information System

India’s foremost home grown auto manufacturer Tata Motors today announced that the Tata Nexon, its popular compact SUV, has become the first Indian car to be published on the prestigious International Dismantling Information System (IDIS) platform for End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV). With this achievement, Tata Motors reiterates its holistic commitment towards making the entire life cycle of its products sustainable i.e. from the development of ultra-low/zero emission vehicles to responsible dismantling and recycling of the vehicle at the final ELV stage. 

This milestone on the Nexon, signifies the increasing commitment of Tata Motors to “End of Life” across its range of vehicles and the beginning of sustained declaration of dismantling procedures across its entire range of vehicles that are complex with increasing technological content, though over the years commercial vehicles have achieved good levels of recyclability where dismantling procedures are better understood. 

IDIS, which is a central repository of ‘Manufacturer Compiled Information’, is used by 25+ global manufacturers from over 40 countries across Europe and Asia and Tata Nexon is the first Indian car to join this elite group. Tata Motors will provide all relevant information for responsible vehicle handling, starting with information about draining automotive fluids, the neutralization of airbags and seat belt tensioners and all the way up to the dismantling of components containing particularly hazardous substances. This will now enable the Indian Authorised Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (AVSF) to undertake environmentally safe dismantling practices recommended by Tata Motors and implement them to work towards a cleaner environment.

The publishing of the Tata Nexon ELV process on IDIS also complements the government’s initiative towards Vehicle scrappage policy & Automotive Industry Standards (AIS 129), contributing to the protection, preservation and improvement of the quality of the environment and energy conservation.

Speaking about this milestone, Mr. Rajendra Petkar, President & CTO, Tata Motors, said “At Tata Motors, our commitment to following sustainable practices is absolute. Accordingly, all our products are designed from the inception stage itself with high levels of recyclability potential to minimise material waste. Use of hazardous substances is restricted to bare minimal while manufacturing and now with a defined process to manage ELV, we are laying down the path for responsible dismantling and recycling at the vehicle’s end of life stage. We are hopeful that such pioneering initiatives will encourage all auto industry stakeholders as well as customers to consciously consider sustainability and environment safety in their decision making process while building and purchasing vehicles.” 

Tata Motors has a rich legacy of adopting sustainable business practices. It established a proprietary International Material Data System (IMDS) where all suppliers mandatorily declare details of the material used for manufacturing vehicle components. It also releases design and system standards for recyclability and maintaining control over the usage of hazardous substances & material marking as part of Performance Attribute Targets (PAT) of Environment Management. Tata Motors remains committed to design vehicles that are environmentally green & sustainable, during its active life as well as after its end-of-life.

Tata Trusts’ Antaran Unearths Handlooms from Hidden Clusters this Festive Season

Antaran, an initiative of Tata Trusts, has curated an exclusive new collection of handloom products made by select Artisan Entrepreneurs nurtured under the initiative. This collection, intended for the coming festive season is available through the platform, www.antaranartisanconnect.in. The participating artisans are from six hidden and lesser-known clusters of India with a rich history of cultural weaves and local handwoven textiles.

More than 2000 textile pieces handwoven in an array of colours and designs representing six diverse heritage weave techniques are being featured on the platform as a part of its inaugural Artisan-led Design collection. Products in this new collection range from sarees, stoles, dupattas & fabrics (for men & women) and home furnishings such as cushion covers, table runners and placemats in cotton and varieties of silk such as Eri, Muga and Tussar. Key features of the textiles are natural fibres, ecofriendly or natural dyes, blends of handspun, mill spun yarns handwoven to create beautiful masterpieces with a design focus.

Antaran’s community initiatives run across four states and six clusters of Assam (Kamrup and Nalbari), Nagaland (Dimapur), Odisha (Gopalpur and Maniabandha) and Andhra Pradesh (Venkatgiri).

Through this platform, Antaran promotes exquisite textiles of lesser known handloom regions in India. Visitors to the site are able to directly access a wide variety of high quality, local, environmentally and socially conscious products from skilled artisans; while trade buyers and designers are able to establish long-term business relationships with them with facilitation support from a team of professionals as part of the initiative

Speaking about the latest collection, Mr Sharda Gautam, Head of Crafts – Tata Trusts, said, “In these challenging times, small craft producers are possibly amongst the worst hit. However, it is encouraging to see 600 artisans, linked to 70 microenterprises, maintaining their creative spirits, as they design and develop beautiful textiles for the coming festive season, with the hope to spark joy and keep their craft alive. This one-of-a-kind collection encapsulates the artistry and skill of the weavers while offering consumers the rare opportunity of direct interaction at a fair and transparent price point”.

The platform which was set up to support Artisan Entrepreneurs by selling their stock at the start of the Lockdown, proved to be a huge success in its first phase. It attracted patrons from across India and abroad as far as The US, Canada, The UK and Singapore. The unique offering of personal contact with these artisans made for an altogether unique buying experience.  Allowing customers, a rare firsthand view of the industry, the true charm of handwoven textiles and the lives of our artisan entrepreneurs.

Yahoo Cricket Reaches Audience of Cricket Fans with PhonePe Partnership

Yahoo Cricket, a one-stop destination for cricket fans, has partnered with PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments platform to exclusively power the content for PhonePe’s cricket hub ‘Switch Gully’ through the cricket season ahead. Users of PhonePe can now catch all the live action while they transact, with live scores, real-time cricket news updates, and ball-by-ball commentary from Yahoo Cricket on ‘Switch Gully,’ available on the PhonePe homepage.

With many more Indians turning to digital payments for their utilities and purchases online since the pandemic, cricket fans in the new normal can now track what’s happening on the field while they continue to transact on PhonePe. Yahoo Cricket will be available on PhonePe Switch even after the completion of the upcoming Premier League.

“This partnership uniquely positions Yahoo Cricket to deliver the latest scores, useful content and an interactive experience to many more cricket fans at scale. PhonePe’s vast, diverse user base and phenomenal reach will enable fans across the country to enjoy updates of the latest cricketing action from the league with Yahoo Cricket. For fans, this partnership creates a seamless way to connect to their passion, without pausing what they need to get done on PhonePe,” said Nikhil Rungta, India Country Manager, Verizon Media.

Commenting on the partnership, Rituraj Rautela, Head of PhonePe Switch said, “We are excited to have Yahoo Cricket as a partner onboard PhonePe Switch. Yahoo Cricket will also be an important offering for our users on ‘Switch Gully’, our dedicated hub for cricket this season, where we have partnered with multiple brands for a variety of services across food, gaming and shopping. With this partnership, our 230 million users can now catch all the live cricketing action on the PhonePe app itself. With over 220 partners on PhonePe Switch currently, our effort has been to build a comprehensive ecosystem offering users a  convenient way to engage with multiple apps without downloading them individually. In doing so, we also enable faster customer acquisition at lower costs and drive higher engagement for our partners." 

New fan experience for the new normal

Yahoo Cricket has also upgraded its mobile app experience for fans, making sure the excitement is ‘always on’ and more interactive! Now with a reduced app size, fans can stay updated with live cricket scores, intensive ball-by-ball commentary and all the cricket news as it happens, besides enjoying the game with a slew of brand new, innovative features:

Uninterrupted experience:

Keep track of live scores via ‘Sticky’ Scorecard: Following a nail-biting match when you suddenly need to check another app on your phone? Now you won't miss a minute with Yahoo Cricket’s new, unique “Sticky Scoreboard”. Available for Android users, this innovative feature allows you to continue to track live scores via the Yahoo Cricket app while using other apps on the phone.

Fast-track to Fantasy research

If you’re a Fantasy Cricket fan who wants an unfair advantage, Yahoo Cricket has you sorted with its comprehensive ‘Fantasy Research’ section. Loaded with stats related to players and teams, it has the ultimate data fans need by match and player, so they can create their best team yet.

Interactive, fan-centric features

Even if you can’t be in the stadium this year, Yahoo Cricket draws you into the game, making it easier, more fun, and bringing fans together to enjoy matches:

Real-time polls and quizzes: Yahoo Cricket has match-specific polls integrated within the commentary. Fans can also dive into daily cricket quizzes.

Bringing users into the conversation: Manually curated user comments are incorporated in the ball by ball commentary -- no social distancing required to join the discussion!

NGO, Government, Donors Partner for Happiness Kit for Healthy India

* The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in partnership with State Governments and philanthropist donors, announce the launch of the “HAPPINESS KIT”,

* Aims to distribute 1,00,000 multi-utility kits by the end of September 2020, to the government school children till their schools re-open

When a nation’s staggering 115 million children are at risk of malnutrition it is time for society to acknowledge that a catastrophic situation is brewing. As the world’s largest school lunch programme run by The Akshaya Patra Foundation, was disrupted and families were pushed into poverty by the coronavirus pandemic, realization dawned that children from marginalised groups were headed towards triple ills of hunger, malnutrition, and starvation. With the aim to mitigate childhood hunger through the pandemic, The Foundation announced the launch of the Happiness Kit to support children from vulnerable communities and their families.

Happiness Kit comprises food items that provide essential nutrients for daily consumption leading to the health, growth, and development of a child. The pulses, spices, peanuts, jaggery, biscuits and other food items in the Kit, are to supplement and enhance the nutritional intake of children and their families, above and beyond the set allocation of grains by Central & State Governments and MHRD. The kit also includes a soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and sanitary pads to promote hygiene in children. To exercise their cognitive abilities, activity-based learning workbooks are also included in respective regional languages.

This kit contains essential nutrients like Glucose, Iron & Calcium, Iodine, Protein that help boost the immunity of the child. Each kit has a nutritional value of 717.5 g of protein and 22,175 Cal of energy, while on a per meal basis each child receives 23.9 g of protein and 739 Cal of energy.

It is only if basic requirements, such as nutrition-rich food, education, and basic hygiene, are met, can the country’s future generations aspire to health, education, and a brighter future.

Having received enthusiastic support from the Happiness Kit pilot project which targeted 1,200 school children in Bangalore, and another 38,666 children in Guwahati, Akshaya Patra aims to scale up and expand the programme across locations to midday meal beneficiaries at their school premises, with student’s parents picking up their kit.

Speaking about the Happiness Kit, Shridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “As Indians, we must focus on creating high quality human capital which will define our demographic dividend. Stakeholders need to work together to create a robust and healthy population for the betterment of the nation through an inclusive society. This September as we observe the National Month of Nutrition, we launched the Happiness Kit initiative which has been created to take care of the nutritional and educational needs of children who are missing school due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I am extremely thankful to our patron donors, including Crompton Greaves, Savita Oil, Schindler, Franklin Templeton, Gland Pharma, India Carbon, Hikal, Sai Sulphonates, CISCO, Amazon and many of our corporate & individual donors for coming forward and supporting this initiative.”

Till now the number of kits that have been distributed is close to 11,000. They are being distributed in locations such as Bangalore, Vadodara, Silvassa, Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Guwahati as well as UP as a way of maximizing their reach and will continue to be distributed until the schools reopen, state-wise.

Covid-19 impact

In India, school closures have impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary education, and 28 million who were attending preschool education in Anganwadi Centres. This is in addition to the more than six million girls and boys who were already out of school prior to the Covid-19 crisis, according to UNICEF. 

* Source: UNICEF Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives of 600 Million Children in South Asia

About the Akshaya Patra Foundation

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India, which strives to address issues like hunger and malnutrition in the country. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food on every single school day. The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world.

In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools across 12 states & 2 union territories in India. For more details, please log on: www.akshayapatra.org

South Korea Donates One lakh Masks to TVS Motor Company for Free Distribution to Aid India's Fight Against COVID-19

Social Welfare Corporation Anguk Zen Center in South Korea, headed by the Venerable Abbot, Subul Sunim, in an exceptional gesture of humanitarian support and solidarity between the two nations, donated one lakh health masks for free distribution to aid India’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  The donation was coordinated by K-Art International Exchange Association in Korea and InKo Centre in India.

The consignment (estimated at 150 Million Korean Won) was handed over today, to Mr. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, and Managing Trustee, Srinivasan Services Trust; Chairman, InKo Centre and Goodwill Envoy for Culture and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea, for free distribution through the Srinivasan Services Trust, the social service arm of TVS Motor Company.

Mr. Venu Srinivasan Chairman, TVS Motor Company & Managing Trustee, Srinivasan Services Trust said, “I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and deepest appreciation to the Venerable Abbot, my revered teacher, Subul Sunim for this compassionate gesture of donating 1 Lakh masks to InKo Centre. We welcome what is indeed a most timely and valuable donation in these challenging times, when wearing masks, following strict rules of sanitation and hygiene and maintaining social distancing is the ‘new normal’.  We will ensure that the masks are widely distributed to local communities across the country through the Srinivasan Services Trust, the social service arm of TVS Motor Company.  This unique civilian gesture of goodwill and support from Busan to Chennai truly epitomizes the warmth and depth of the valued relationship between the two nations.” 

Mr Young-seup Kwon, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai, said “The global pandemic is by far one of the most serious challenges humanity has ever faced. We can overcome this challenge by staying strong and working together.  This cooperation at this civil society level clearly shows how much ordinary Koreans and Indians care for each other and we can overcome this challenge by standing together.”

These high-quality masks produced by BlueIndus Co. Ltd were specially provided by CEO Jeong Cheon-sik for distribution in India. The masks were shipped to India, courtesy Mr. Yang Jae-saeng, CEO of Eunsan Shipping Air, Korea.

About the Anguk Zen Center

The Anguk Zen Center in Korea, headed by the Venerable Abbot, Subul Sunim, is a social welfare corporation founded in 2014, which runs a Support Center for Abused Children as its core programme. The Center donates baby clothes and supplies to communal living facilities, multicultural facilities, single mother facilities and regional child centers in Korea in partnership with Zero to Seven, a company that specializes in childcare. The Center also supports babies in foreign countries, including Nepal, Mongolia and North Korea.

About the special relationship with India

The Venerable Abbot, Subul Sunim, designated by K-Art International Exchange as Korea's Co-Chairman of the Korean-Indian Cultural Exchange Group - a highest-level decision-making authority- which supports several small, medium and large-scale cultural exchanges between visual artists in Korea and in India, initiated on a regular basis by K-Art International Exchange Association, Korea and InKo Centre, India. The Venerable Abbot donated masks through InKo Centre to Mr Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, Chairman, InKo Centre; Chairman of the Srinivasan Services Trust and Goodwill Envoy for Culture and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea.  In 2010, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, honoured Mr. Venu Srinivasan, with the "Order of Diplomatic Service Merit" (Heung-In Medal), in recognition of the valuable contribution in promoting Korea-India bilateral relations. Mr Srinivasan received an Honorary Citizen of Busan Award from the city of Busan in 2014. He was formerly the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai and currently holds the title of Goodwill Envoy for Culture and Diplomacy of the Republic of Korea.

About Srinivasan Services Trust (https://www.tvssst.org)

Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, promoted by Sundaram-Clayton Ltd and TVS Motor Company Ltd., has been carrying out rural development activities since 1996. SST is working in thousands of villages spread over in five States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. SST's holistic approach focuses on key areas of Economic Development, Health, Education, Infrastructure, Environment and Social and Cultural development in the villages.