Dettol Launches Limited Edition Handwash – Made from 100% Recycled Plastic in India

Dettol, the leading germ protection brand today, announced, the launch of its Dettol Handwash’s protection from 100 illness causing germs in a new 100 % recycled bottle in India. The one of its kind, limited-edition handwash bottle has a beautiful contemporary design in black colour highlighted by golden inscriptions. And certain proceeds from the sale of every bottle will directly go to the ASSOCHAM foundation for plastic waste recycling, among other environmental causes. With this launch, Dettol aims to reach conscious consumers who want to make a positive impact on the environment while ensuring regular handwashing habits are maintained.

With the introduction of the category leading Dettol Handwash in a fully recycled bottle, Dettol aims to take a formative step in the direction of addressing the plastic pollution problem which has further exacerbated amidst Covid-19.  As part of this initiative, Dettol will continue its efforts to create awareness about the importance of handwashing to prevent the spread of illness through a 360degree media activation, while also driving awareness of this new unique 100% recycled bottle.

Commenting on the launch and the initiative, Mr. Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia said, “The onset of the pandemic has raised many questions surrounding plastic waste. Being the leading health brand, we at Dettol, have partnered with our consumers in their journey to fight the spread of COVID-19 by propagating correct hygiene measures. However, it is also our responsibility to address the environmental concerns arising due to increased use of plastic. With this launch Dettol’s protection from the 100 illness causing germs packed in 100% recycled packaging will not only protect your hands from germs but your environment too. This will provide environmentally conscious consumers an opportunity to give back to the environment, while getting their trusted Dettol germ protection. I am proud to say that Reliance Retail has joined hands with us as an exclusive partner to make the dream of bringing the new Dettol 100% recycled handwash bottle to your homes.”

As a mission-driven company, RB is committed to creating a positive environmental impact through sustainable business practices. On a global scale, by 2025, RB will have 100% plastic packaging for all products made using reusable or recycled material. Dettol 100% recycled handwash bottle is the first step in this direction in India. This initiative is a testament of RB’s commitment towards contributing to the fight against plastic waste, and catalyzing change within the industry and beyond.

The new Dettol Liquid handwash Black is made with 100% Post Consumer Resin (PCR). It is available exclusively at Reliance Retail & Jio Mart in 200 ml sized bottle priced at INR 99.

Bengaluru-Based Orion Mall At Brigade Gateway Gets LEED Gold Certification

Orion Mall At Brigade Gateway is the first mall in the country to receive a LEED Gold Certification under ARC Existing Building category. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. The certification system provides a dependable framework for assessing a building’s degree of compliance with global environmental protection and sustainability standards. Some of the chief parameters that determine a building’s rating include energy expenditure, water usage, carbon dioxide emission, waste management, indoor air quality, etc.

Orion Mall was able to get the certification due to its highly-efficient operational structure that prioritizes sustainability and utilization of green technology over traditionally more cost effective solutions. “I’m proud to say that the Brigade Orion Mall in Bengaluru is setting high benchmarks for other retailers to follow.   This certification is the result of truly exceptional performance by the mall facility team through consistent upgrading and maintenance of facility systems along with strict adherence to environmental protocols.” declares Selvarasu M, LEED Fellow & Managing Director from LEAD Consultancy, who works as a sustainability consultant for the mall.

Even with receiving sizable number of footfalls on a regular basis, the mall has consistently excelled at maintaining the eco-friendly dimension of the overall infrastructure. In view of the extensive range of businesses operating with the mall, this feat is considerably more impressive. Manu R, General Manager - Facilities & Technical Co-Ordination opines “I believe the key to our success as a standard-bearer for eco-friendly operation is our no-compromise attitude. We invest in the best equipment, employ personnel with high degree of expertise and keep abreast of latest developments in green technology that facilitates our pro-environment operational goals.”, Shashie Kumar, COO – Retail said, “Our endeavour is customer-centricity combined  with the focus of sustainability in our day-to-day operations.

"Being Responsible Socially is a Core Value for Brigade. We are constantly exploring for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and improve the operational efficiency of our malls. We invest in technology that helps us save water, reduce electricity consumption. Start-ups from our Brigade REAP program such as WEGOT and Clairco have helped us achieve this.  ” says Nirupa Shankar, Executive Director at Brigade Enterprises Ltd.

About Orion Mall

A world-class mall in every facet, the iconic Orion Mall at Brigade Gateway is Brigade Group's flagship mall venture and has won every accolade and prestigious award bestowed by the most recognised industry associations in India. This premium mall set high standards across construction, architecture, consumer experience, and marketing; and quickly established itself as the benchmark among its peers. Spread across 8.2 lakh square feet, with every detail of a rich modern retail environment woven in, Orion Mall at Brigade Gateway is a true game changer in the mall industry. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sells 8116 Units in Sept and Registers 46% Growth Compared to Aug 2020

Toyota Kirloskar Motor today announced that the company sold a total of 8116 units in the month of September 2020, thereby clocking a growth of 46% when compared to the wholesales in August 2020 (the company had clocked 5555 units in the month of August 2020). For reference, the company had sold a total of 10,203 units in the domestic market in September 2019 and had exported 708 units of the Etios as well.

Commenting on the month’s performance, Mr. Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Service- TKM said, “We are seeing demand pick up and a lot more confidence in our dealers, thereby witnessing a 14 to 18% growth in orders when compared to last few months. September has been our best month so far, ever since the pandemic hit us in March 2020. Factors leading to this can be attributed to the pent up demand amongst customers as well as the onset of the festive season.

In terms of production, our manufacturing side has gone back to two shift production a day, thereby supporting us to keep up with the demand. Another factor leading to such demand could be attributed to the new launches in the market. TKM also announced the launch of Urban Cruiser in September and we have got a very good response from our customers and the market, ever since we opened the bookings for Urban Cruiser. We are grateful towards our loyal customers who have pre-booked the Urban Cruiser as this reiterates their trust and faith on brand Toyota,” he concluded.

LTI Launches Canvas PolarSled Enabling Rapid Migration to Snowflake

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE code: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company launched Canvas PolarSled, an automated cloud migration and modernization framework to help enterprises accelerate their data journey to Snowflake, the cloud data platform. LTI Canvas PolarSled enables enterprises with rapid migration of their cloud data to Snowflake’s single, integrated platform in an efficient and low-risk way.

With its innovative architecture, unique consumption model and near-unlimited scalability, Snowflake adoption can help enterprises emerge as fully equipped digital organizations. LTI Canvas PolarSled is a unique framework that provides a complete playbook on automation strategy and governance to ensure swift migration to Snowflake.

LTI Canvas PolarSled approaches migration to Snowflake in three layers, each with a specific set of tools, governance and outcomes:

1.  A consulting led and contextualized migration strategy and design

2.  End-to-end migration across entire analytics value chain by leveraging LTI tools & accelerators

3.  Optimizing Snowflake data platform post-migration

Sanjay Jalona, CEO & Managing Director, LTI said, “At LTI, we are excited about innovations in the data modernization landscape. Our partnership with Snowflake is instrumental in amplifying our capabilities to deliver next-gen projects and enhanced outcomes for our clients in this space. We designed LTI Canvas PolarSled, to design, implement and manage Snowflake migration programs efficiently and enable customers to expedite their journey to cloud.”

Kevin Miller, VP – System Integrators, Snowflake said, “LTI has a strong focus on building comprehensive capabilities around Snowflake. They are an industry leader in providing Snowflake consulting and technology services to enterprises across the globe. We believe LTI Canvas PolarSled is an exponential framework that will offer differentiated value to customers through the process of migration to Snowflake.”

LTI works with leading global organizations providing comprehensive Snowflake implementation and migration services including design, preparation, re-platforming and performance optimization.

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 420 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 32 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivaled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 30,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders.

73% India Inc. Employers Introduced Salary Cuts, Middle-Level Managers Suffered Most: Times Jobs

 

* A new TimesJobs survey of 1,385 HR managers found that 73% Indian firms had introduced salary cuts to keep their organisations afloat during the COVID-19 times

* Maximum pay cuts happened at the middle management level, as stated by 40% of survey respondents

* About 60% organisations are in favour of revoking the salary cuts at an appropriate time

* In the wake of Unlock 4.0, 61% of companies are considering reopening their offices in the coming months, most want to call about 40% staff only 

About 73% of Indian firms resorted to salary cuts to keep their business going amid the tough COVID-19 situation, found a recent survey conducted by TimesJobs. About 1,385 HR managers working in different industries participated in the survey and said that the middle management level suffered the steepest pay cuts.

A significant finding is that among the firms who saw salary cuts, most (61%), are keen on revoking these cuts in an appropriate time. The TimesJobs survey aimed at understanding how India Inc. faced the COVID-19 times, the new approach to employee engagement and, the employers’ outlook in the ‘Unlock 4.0’ scenario.

Five important takeaways from this survey are:

1.  Less working hours to keep the workforce happy:

In the wake of salary cuts, most companies introduced new regimes. Most employers resorted to reduced working hours (voted by 25% of survey respondents), followed by 22% firms who offered extra leaves to their employees.

2. Upskilling is beating even COVID insurance:

Most (38%) companies offered paid upskilling opportunities to their employees, as a means to connect with them more actively. About 25% HR managers said that they started recognising employee achievements publically to keep their workforce engaged, and 19% of respondents introduced paid insurance against COVID-19, as a measure to bond with employees.

3. Office could restart for many, but not for everyone:

With Unlock 4.0 in progress, a majority (61%) of HR managers are keen on reopening their offices in the coming month. Whereas, 39% HR managers said that they do not plan to open their offices so soon. Those who were keen on restarting offices said that they will be doing so as soon as the next 30 days. Also, most want to call back about 40% employees, to begin with.

4.  Masks, sanitisers & ArogyaSetu status check before walking into workplaces:

With employers showing keenness on reopening their office premises, wearing masks and carrying sanitisers will be mandatory for those coming to office, said 50% surveyed HR managers. About 25% of HR managers said that they would mandate the use of ArogyaSetu verified health status for all employees coming to the office.

5. Job market could regain activity in the next 6 months:

The TimesJobs survey also asked the HR managers if the job market will be buoyant any time soon, and 46% respondents said that it could take 6 months for the recruitment sentiment to get back to its old track. About 31% said it could take one year, and 15% said that it could take two years for the job market to be back.

Summarising the findings of the new TimesJobs survey, Sanjay Goyal, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is a litmus test for organisational structures, values and their commitment to the employees. The TimesJobs survey indicates that while many firms opted for pay cuts in challenging business times, they are willing to restore these back. It's heartening to see that employers are trying out new concepts such as reduced working hours, extended leaves, offering paid upskilling opportunities and insurance against COVID-19, to keep employees engaged. This hints that ‘employee wellbeing’ is slowly becoming the cornerstone of workplace culture - a typical sign of mature and evolved workplaces.”

The complete report is available at https://content.timesjobs.com/photo/78234772.cms

AI, Blockchain and IOT Together To Bring Real Value to Organizations

By Sanjay Pathak, Head Blockchain, Healthcare & Insurance Practice, 3i Infotech 

A few decades back, it would have been impossible to imagine the way we communicate, interact or transact on social and economic fronts today. 

Similarly, today it’s very hard to fathom the real potential of ‘blockchain’, despite the promises it has. Blockchain today is still in its infancy, and its mainstream value is yet to be realized. While, it’s for sure that blockchain will disrupt the existing solutions, not only in industry and commerce but in almost all aspects of our day-to-day lives, but it cannot do so just by itself. Same holds true for Internet of Things (IoT) as well as for Artificial Intelligence (AI), though in different perspectives and magnitudes. The underlying fact is that to get the real value the new age emerging technologies like blockchain, AI and IoT will have to work in tandem. As we begin to understand the new normal in the midst of the corona pandemic, it will be important to draw value from any digital transformation that organizations undertake. Businesses will have to think beyond their domain and scope to provide services which are of actual value to consumers.  

This article focuses not on “why” but delves into “how” this can happen.  

When it comes to communication and transactions, speed and efficiency are the prime factors that have improved by leaps and bounds. IoT has brought new and cheaper ways to communicate with ‘things’ which was not fathomable in the past. Now, blockchain, with promise of immutability, transparency, security, Interoperability etc. allows us to exploit otherwise unused resources, trade the un-tradable, and allow new ecosystems that were not possible before. The new entrant AI (inclusive of machine/deep learning, vision, NLP, robots or autonomous machines etc.) has already started to deliver great value to many industries, so much so, as to reduce or even replace the human element. Further advancement in 5G communication only sounds as a positive catalyst to this ecosystem.  

However, the aforementioned technologies, with a disjointed ecosystem or industries’ siloed approach towards them, may not reach their full potential, as promised.   

In the above combination, ‘data’ becomes the common driving factor. While IoT is producing data from new sources and sensors, blockchain is safeguarding and ensuring immutability, and the AI layer on top is helping deliver new business meanings and outcomes in almost real-time. In summary, data value chain, comes from new technologies enabling collection, sharing, security, immutability, analysis, and automation of decisions with minimal human involvement. 

If you observe the shifting industry trends, as per a recent Gartner report, 75% of IoT implementers have already implemented blockchain or plan to do so by 2020 in US. While this is just the beginning, the best is yet to come, when industries will start to think on real customer problems, rather than their domain specific process and functions. 

Let’s run this model on a practical consumer problem of provenance - the classic ‘Farm to Table’ use case. Through the journey, the big questions that need solutions are with respect to quality, credibility, genuineness, safety, increase in efficiency and warranting correct distribution of revenue. IoT takes care of conditions maintained in farms with respect to temperature, humidity, soil nutrients and growth progress, and also conditions at processing centers and logistics. All this information along with farmer, land and crop details can be collected and stored on blockchain-based smart contracts. AI-based engine on top of this, with feeds from weather systems etc. can potentially trigger and automatically execute smart contracts and take required action based on pre-agreed rules, including payments etc. In an adverse event like an outbreak at any stage, the source could be easily traced and isolate the products that used the impacted material and necessary actions can be taken to quickly prevent further damage. Next, this can be extended to insurance and forward commodity trading using a trade setup, thus bringing real value from agriculture, supply chain, financial services, insurance and other industries combined.  

IoT has come a long way in improving the type of sensors, size and cost and even their usage in some industries; the real consumer centric benefits can be manifold. AI faces the challenge of accuracy, trust and confidence over replacement by the human cognitive mind. Building such ecosystems without regulatory pressure, is not easy if not impossible. This is one of the primary factors for Blockchain and other similar transformative technologies not gaining mainstream acceptance or adoption.  

On the backdrop of traditional computing, let’s also keep an eye on ‘Quantum Computing’ breakthroughs, as this not only threatens the key features of these emerging technologies, but will severely impact best of encryption, security and cryptography that exists today. Which means any industry, digital ecosystems, IT infrastructure will have to evolve in rapid pace before they get negatively impacted.  

NTT Ltd. Expands Its Hyperscale Data Center Footprint With Addition of Mumbai 7 Data Center

NTT Ltd.’s Global Data Centers division today announced the expansion of its line of data center facilities with the launch of a new high-density and hyperscale data center in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The Mumbai 7 Data Center operates with 375,000 sq.ft of colocation space, and will offer the capacity to host 5000 racks and over 30 MW of load.  The new Mumbai 7 Data Center facility will expand NTT Ltd’s data center capacity (server room) in India by 30 percent.

NTT plans to invest around 2 billion dollars on the expansion of data centers, networks, and solar power projects in India.

This current data center footprint expansion in India is part of the ongoing growth strategy of the Global Data Centers division which operates the third-largest data center platform in the world, with over 160 data centers spanning more than 20 countries and regions. The Mumbai 7 Data Center is operational with some marquee anchored customers on-board already.

The Mumbai 7 Data Center is the third hyperscale data center in Chandivali campus and is well connected by fiber from all four sides. Together NTT’s Mumbai hub of data centers makes the Chandivali campus India’s first and largest operational hyperscale Data Center Park, which totals over 1,000,000 sq.ft., 13,000 racks and 100 MW of load capacity.

“India has been a key market for NTT Ltd’s data center portfolio. Organizations today demand an ever-expanding global platform to reach their growing digital business objectives,” said Masaaki Moribayashi, Senior Executive Vice President, Services of NTT Ltd. “That’s why we continue to expand our portfolio of state-of-the-art data centers in new and existing markets that complement our global geographic footprint and support our clients as their demand increases for reliable, robust cloud services, cloud communications, digital entertainment, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence.”

Sharad Sanghi, CEO, Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure of NTT Ltd. in India said, “We are extremely pleased to increase our data center footprint in Mumbai, during this pandemic to enable our clients to derive greater value while delivering business outcomes. Our data center facilities are poised to become the very heart of India’s IT Infrastructure needs providing the right platform with end-to-end ICT solutions combining hosted infrastructure, network, security  and managed services – to balance the critical IT load of businesses.”

With NTT reinforcing their commitment to following sustainable best practices while growing their data centers platform, Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure division in India has launched its first 50 MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Solapur, Maharashtra, which is built in partnership with Tata Power, one of India’s largest integrated Power Company. The company’s new Solapur power plant is aimed at meeting 83% of the power needed by the Mumbai data centers. The capacity can be expanded to generate another 50 MW solar power in the future.

According to 451 Research, NTT is currently the leader in India data center market. India is growing at 23% CAGR (2017-2022) due to increased demand from global cloud providers and a proposed data sovereignty law by the Indian government, as well as less-than-ideal market conditions that have been playing elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region.

With the addition of Mumbai 7 Data Center, NTT Ltd’s Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure division in India currently operates with 10 data centers across 4 major cities with over 1.5 million sq. ft. and over 150 MW of power. The company plans to double its capacity in the next two to three years to strengthen its hybrid ICT solutions and support the digital transformations of customers in India.

About the Global Data Centers division of NTT Ltd

Global Data Centers is a division of NTT Ltd. and incorporates DPA, e-shelter, Gyron, Netmagic, NTT Indonesia Nexcenter, RagingWire, and other NTT Communications group data center divisions. Our combined global platform is one of the largest in the world, with over 160 data centers spanning more than 20 countries and regions including North America, APAC, EMEA, and India. As a neutral operator, we offer access to multiple cloud providers, a large variety of Internet Exchanges and telecommunication network providers including our own IPv6 compliant, tier 1 global IP network. Our clients include hyperscalers and global enterprises across all industries, including the financial, media, gaming, healthcare, manufacturing and retail industries, and public sector. 

About NTT Ltd.

NTT Ltd. is a leading global technology services company bringing together 28 brands including NTT Communications, Dimension Data and NTT Security. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital, and secure. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace that spans 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries. Together we enable the connected future.