World Rabies Day: Rabies Killed More People in India in the Last 5 Years than COVID-19

* According to WHO estimates, 20,000 rabies deaths every year in India; accounts for 36% of Rabies caused deaths – the highest in the world 

* Webinar organized by Indian Immunologicals – Managing Animal Bites Better with eminent experts; promotes Rabies awareness pro Fearless Against Rabies campaign 

* Worldwide 28th September is observed as World Rabies Day to mark the death anniversary of French scientist Sir Louis Pasteur – the inventor of the Rabies vaccine  

Some facts on Rabies 

* WHO estimates every year around 1.75 million dog bite cases with 59,000 deaths worldwide (India - 20,000) with 95% taking place in Africa and Asia 

* Stray dogs account for nearly 80% of the canine population in India; high incidence Rabies due to poor vaccination 

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is fatal by the time its symptoms start appearing after an animal bite. The WHO estimates the death toll caused by Rabies in India at about 1 lac in the last 5 years with more than 1/3rd (36%) of the total deaths across the globe. Every year in the world, 90% of Rabies deaths occur in the children living in rural areas of Africa and Asia while coming into contact with infected dogs. The number of Rabies deaths are still much above than COVID-19 related deaths reported so far (95,500 as on Sep 28). Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), a leading biologicals company, organized a virtual session to address the issue with eminent heath experts on the occasion of World Rabies Day. 

The situation is deep-rooted in India due to the lack of awareness of preventive measures, uncontrolled canine population, insufficient dog vaccination, poor knowledge of proper post-exposure prophylaxis. The webinar on the topic of ‘Managing Animal Bites Better – Lets Collaborate, Educate and Vaccinated’ discussed on these issues. The panellist included Padamashree Dr. Oomesh Kr. Bharti, Epidemiologist, State Inst. of Health & Family Welfare (Shimla), Dr. M K Sudarshan, Founder President of APCRI, Dr. DH Ashwath Narayana, Superintendent of  KIMS (Bengaluru), Dr. Sumit Poddar, Antirabies Consultant (Kolkata), and Dr. Shrikrishna Isloor, Asso. Prof., Animal & Fisheries Sciences University (Bengaluru). 

IIL’s Fearless Against Rabies campaign 

IIL believes that awareness plays the vital role in rabies prevention. The initiative “Fearless against Rabies”, is a digital campaign intended to create awareness on varied aspects related to Rabies for public at large and also for medical professionals through multiple mediums. This platform encourages organizations & schools to come forward and collaborate in organizing awareness sessions on Rabies. Through this initiative, IIL also aim to create awareness about pre-exposure prophylaxis among pet owners, children, walkers, runners ,veterinarians, animal control & wildlife officers  and all other high risk groups. For further details on this and  join hands in our effort. 

While speaking on the handing Rabies, Dr. K. Anand Kumar, Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals Limited said, “IIL is truly a One Health company, playing a significant role in eradicating and providing cost-effective tools for the control of various zoonotic diseases in the country including the dreaded Rabies. As we move ahead there is an acute need of increasing the awareness level among the population at large. On World Rabies Day, several organizations come forward to intensify actions for the awareness of Rabies. IIL’s initiative of ‘Fearless Against Rabies’ is well set to reach out to a larger population on the awareness of preventive measures for rabies.”  

“Indian Immunologicals has been a pioneer in making anti-rabies vaccine accessible for both humans and animals. IIL is one of the world’s largest producers of rabies vaccines and consistent supply of “Abhayrab” anti-rabies vaccine has helped reduce the burden of this deadly disease. This has been possible due to our committed people, wide and robust distribution network, and highly efficient manufacturing and quality systems ,” added Dr. Prasanna Deshpande, Deputy Managing Director, Indian Immunologicals Limited. 

Indian Immunologicals Limited (a subsidiary company of the National Dairy Development Board) is a leading biologicals player and the world’s largest manufacturer of animal rabies vaccine (Raksharab) and human rabies vaccine (Abhayrab) in the country with 30 Million combined vaccines doses every year from its facilities in India. Recently, the IIL launched eco-friendly packaging of its Rabies vaccines reducing the plastic burden by 160 tonnes per annum. 

Hindware Kitchen Ensemble Introduces its New TVC on Hob with MaxX Safe Technology

* Conceptualised by DDB Mudra, the TVC showcases the power of new revolutionary Flame Failure Device (FFD) technology introduced in hob segment by Hindware Appliances

* The hob comes with FFD that automatically stops the gas supply when the flame goes off preventing accidental leakage

* Led by an entertaining TVC, and supported by 360-degree marketing activations, the integrated campaign runs across geographies and languages in India

Somany Home Innovation Limited, makers of ‘Hindware Appliances’ and one of the leading players in auto clean chimney segments in India, is proud to introduce its breakthrough technology and design innovation with the new TV Campaign for Adonia Hob with MaxX Safe Technology. Ahead of the festive season, Hindware brings to its customers another innovation in its range of hobs in form of the Flame Failure Device (FFD). This device automatically cuts off the gas supply whenever there’s an accidental leakage, when the flame goes off.

Conceptualised and created by DDB Mudra, the TVC brings back Neha – a smart and modern woman - and her snooping and gossipy neighbour Evilika who were part of last year’s beloved and popular Titania TVC as well. Neha is shown boiling the milk over the hob just as Evilika enters and starts gossiping. However, she gets distracted by Neha’s new stylish Hindware Hob and is shown getting curious and jealous about the new appliance. She fidgets with the knobs but is surprised to note no leakage of gas. On closer examination of the hob – as Neha steps asides – Evilika marvels at the new Flame Failure Device.

The campaign aims to highlight the MaxX Safe technology which prevents the gas leakage in case the flame gets off while the knob is in the ON position. The TVC emphasizes on the dual convenience that the Adonia Hob provides – handiness in cooking and safety from fire-related mishaps and not to forget the appealing aesthetics of the hob.

With this TVC, Hindware Kitchen Ensemble is taking a 360-degree marketing approach for the coming festive season. The campaign will be present across various platforms such as electronic, print & digital. For a wider reach, the TVC will be aired on key regional channels in languages like Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu including prominent News channels.

Mr. Rakesh Kaul, CEO & Whole Time Director, Somany Home Innovation Limited (SHIL), said, “Designed for modern-day homes, Hindware Kitchen Ensemble, one of the leading players and trusted brand in the consumer appliance category aims to grow the business manifold. It offers top-of-the-line products to Indian consumers. It helps our customers adopt a comfortable, luxurious and sustainable lifestyle while fostering innovation”.

Mr. Kaul further added “We received an overwhelming response to the TVC for Titania series and we decided to bring back the creativity to underscore the innovation in form of the Flame Failure Device in the hob series. This is a revolutionary addition to our range of hobs and a testament to Hindware’s legacy of creating symbiosis between consumer requirements and superior technological solutions. With the Adonia series we aim to endorse a safe and hazard-free environment and encourage the consumers to cook with the MaxX Safe Technology.”

Commenting on the commercial, Spokesperson from DDB Mudra said, “This Hindware HOB is a state-of-the-art kitchen appliance for users with an essential safety feature. The team has tried to create a realistic kitchen scenario in the story which revolves around the product and its main feature - Maxx safe technology.”

L&T Technology Services Selected to Support Tenneco DRiV Ride Performance Division

 

L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leading pure-play engineering services company, today announced that it has been selected to provide engineering services for Tenneco’s DRiV original equipment (OE) Ride Control business group.

LTTS will set-up a HUB Development Center to provide DRiV with additional engineering capacity in conventional damper and component development.  The HUB Development Center will also provide a hybrid, unified engineering business model for supporting established domains such as mechanical, product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital engineering. LTTS will also work with DRiV to modernize and upgrade engineering tools and create a global benchmarking framework for product lifecycle analysis.

Nik Endrud, Group Vice President and General Manager, DRiV Ride Control, said, “The transportation industry has witnessed a dramatic revolution in recent years mainly driven by digital technologies. Our engineering teams play a crucial role in designing and developing new- and next-generation suspension technologies that help our OE customers differentiate themselves in an extremely competitive and fast-changing market.”

LTTS is a well-known leader in engineering services with robust infrastructure for automotive engineering including 11 dedicated labs, a track record of working with leading OEMs and the ability to create exciting patents and solutions for customers.

“LTTS will develop design automation and back office support tools that will help increase efficiency for our global engineering organization. We expect LTTS’ services will help strengthen our focus internally on developing and launching innovative suspension technologies in our engineering centers of excellence in Europe and the US, as well as offer an efficient capacity management service to flex to the growing needs of the global suspension market for conventional damper and component engineering,” Endrud added.

Shailendra Shrivastava, Global Head of Ground Transportation at L&T Technology Services said, “At LTTS, we look forward to taking up challenging opportunities in engineering programs pertaining to product lifecycle management and this new engagement will help set the stage for us to create engineering tools to support DRiV engineers in developing intelligent suspension technologies and innovative passive solutions. LTTS looks forward to working with DRiV and capitalizing on prevailing trends such as new hybrid mobility models and the evolution of intelligent cars.”

About Tenneco

Tenneco is one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers and marketers of automotive products for original equipment and aftermarket customers, with 2019 revenues of $17.45 billion and approximately 78,000 team members working at more than 300 sites worldwide.  Our four business groups - Motorparts, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain, deliver technology solutions for diversified global markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial, motorsport and the aftermarket. 

About L&T Technology Services Ltd

L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS) is a listed subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited focused on Engineering and R&D (ER&D) services. We offer consultancy, design, development and testing services across the product and process development life cycle. Our customer base includes 69 Fortune 500 companies and 53 of the world’s top ER&D companies, across industrial products, medical devices, transportation, telecom & hi-tech, and the process industries. Headquartered in India, we have over 16,600 employees spread across 17 global design centers, 28 global sales offices and 51 innovation labs as of June 30, 2020.

AVRA Laboratories Establishes CSIR - A V Rama Rao Chairs for Translational Research

Avra Laboratories, a leading pharmaceutical company founded by Padmabhushan Dr. A. V. Rama Rao, will be establishing three research chairs at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with the aim to support and recognize exemplary work in the field of translational research. The chairs, named in honor of Dr. A. V. Rama Rao, a former Director of the CSIR-IICT, will provide a three-year fellowship to selected scientists to recognize and advance their efforts. The chair selection committee has selected the following nominees for FY2020-2023 to receive the prestigious fellowship:

1. Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, Director, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad for exemplary contributions in translational research for the Pharma sector.

2. Dr.  Amol A. Kulkarni, Sr. Principal Scientist, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune for outstanding efforts in translational research and commercialization of continuous process equipments including micro and flow reactors.

For over 25 years, Avra Laboratories has been working closely with domestic and multinational companies to develop and supply advanced pharmaceutical intermediates from lab to commercial scale, and has developed novel low-cost manufacturing processes for several complex molecules. Dr Chandra Ramarao, Chief Operating Officer at Avra Laboratories and a member of the selection committee commented “It is indeed an honor and privilege for Avra to be associated with CSIR and highlight the work of exceptional scientists who have extended their laboratory research towards tangible solutions and products.”

Global Appliances Giant Hisense Announces Series of Next Gen Side-by-Side Refrigerators in India; Available Sept 29, 2020 Onwards

* Unveils the all new next generation French Door Flagship Model at INR 54999/-

* The new range of 7 SKU’s, including French Door, Side-by-Side, Single Door and Top Freezer refrigerators, is priced between INR 6999 and INR 64999

* The new models to be available from 29th Sept. on Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance Digital

Hisense, a global leader in consumer home appliances and electronics, announces the launch of its new range of next-gen refrigerators in India, today. The range includes four categories – the French Door, Side-by-Side, Top Freezer and Single Door, with a capacity range between 44L and 690L. The brand will offer a 1-year warranty on the refrigerators and a 10-year warranty on the inverter compressor. These will be available starting September 29th, 2020 on Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance Digital.

On the launch, Mr. Rishi Tandon, COO Hisense India, commented, “With the launch of Side-by-Side and French Door big capacity refrigerators, we are providing Indian consumers the power to choose and upgrade at reasonable prices, and are reinventing a segment  in the market which has limited options currently. Globally, Hisense is an aspirational premium brand that is involved in continuous technology innovation and customer-oriented development of products. The new Side- by-Side range that we are launching is the result of an integration of Global and Indian Insights. This has resulted in features that have been designed for the Indian consumers who aspire for more. We focus on the product’s cutting-edge technology, superior performance, elegant and sophisticated design, and enduring reliability, ensuring nothing is ever compromised”

PhonePe Deepens its Foray into Mutual Funds with the Launch of 7 New Categories

* The new launch to give more flexibility and control to investors

* Users can choose between building their own mutual fund portfolio or getting a comprehensive solution via Super Funds

PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments platform, today announced the launch of 7 new mutual fund categories for customers to invest in. This, along with Super Funds launched in May '20 and Liquid Funds launched in Jan'20 will now offer a rich and comprehensive set of investment choices to over 230 million registered PhonePe users, who now have the choice to either opt for a solution that is fully managed by experts via Super Funds or build their own portfolio through a selection of curated mutual fund schemes across 9 categories. The categories are Large cap, Mid and Small cap, Diversified Funds, Index Funds, Hybrid - Aggressive & Dynamic Asset Allocation, Debt, Liquid and Tax Saving Funds.

With the launch of the new categories, PhonePe aims to cater to investors who want greater control and flexibility in building their own investment portfolio to suit their life goals and investment style.

In true PhonePe tradition, the user experience is extremely simple and intuitive with helpful educational tips all along the investment journey to help customers make the right investing decisions. The Investing section on the PhonePe app provides detailed information on every Mutual Fund, thus acting as a great education and decision making resource for everyone, right from new investors who are making their first investment to more evolved investors who are looking for a convenient and easy way to manage all their investments.

Commenting on the launch, Terence Lucien, Head of Mutual Funds & Gold at PhonePe, said,  “At PhonePe, we have always focused on introducing use case driven products  to  help our customers achieve their financial goals. We launched Super Funds in May this year to assist investors who prefer a comprehensive solution fully managed by experts. The launch of these 7 new curated sets of Mutual Fund categories will cater to investors who want greater flexibility and control in building their own investment portfolio. We are confident that our latest set of offerings will cater to the aspirations of every Indian by allowing them to grow their wealth and meet their financial aspirations.”

FanPlayIoT Redefines Sports Engagement with Microsoft Azure

Sports IoT platform FanPlayIoT is using Microsoft Azure to drive innovative engagement experiences for fitness and sports enthusiasts. Through the integration of advanced wearable technologies with deep analytics and cloud, FanPlayIoT enables fans to experience sports and fitness activities in a more interactive manner.

The platform captures the emotions of sports enthusiasts, through wearables and IoT devices, and quantifies fans’ expressions through a unique FanEmote metric derived from a combination of verbal, emotional and motion vectors. The platform also offers tips to help users realize their health and wellness goals and offer expert advice from sporting legends and coaches.  In addition to real-time interaction with their favorite players, users get rewarded on the platform by sponsor brands associated with FanPlayIoT.

Sangeeta Bavi, Director, Startup Ecosystem, Microsoft India said, “In today’s unprecedented times, we are all reimagining experiences for the virtual world. When sporting events are being held in restricted settings, innovative fan engagement channels become highly relevant. We are excited to collaborate with FanPlayIoT to enhance the experience of sports enthusiasts around the world on their unified digital experience. Being powered by Microsoft’s scalable and secure cloud platform allows FanPlayIoT to engage with varying audiences and improve their experiences with intelligent feedback loops.”  

Dr. Mohan Kumar, Founder, FanPlayIoT said, “We are excited to leverage the power of Microsoft Azure to create a platform that amplifies the passion and emotions of sport enthusiasts in a unique way. SportsTech is poised to scale new heights not just in India but across the world, and we are committed to introducing new innovations for gamifying fan engagement. Our Azure-based platform captures the fan passion quotient in real-time and enables us to reward those super fans through brand partnerships using neuromarketing principles.”

FanPlayIoT has deployed its platform during the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) to augment engagement for the fans of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The platform helps CSK sense motions and emotions of millions of its fans on a real-time basis during IPL 2020. FanPlayIoT’s sensing network, including their app and a variety of wearables and IoT devices, combined with the social media integration through Microsoft Dynamics 365 has been designed to augment fan experience during the matches.

Backed by Microsoft’s deep technical expertise and go-to-market resources, startups can innovate and build solutions on Microsoft Azure. Microsoft is committed to helping startups scale their business, guiding them through different growth stages and helping them be enterprise-ready.