Honda 2Wheelers India, Repsol Lubricants Join to Launch ‘Honda Repsol MOTO BIKER & MOTO SCOOTER’ Engine Oil

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. today announced its strategic alliance with Spain’s largest petroleum company Repsol Lubricants for the launch of ‘Honda Repsol MOTO BIKER & MOTO SCOOTER’ Engine Oil in India.

Tested & recommended by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Japan, the engine oil which will be marketed as ‘Honda Repsol MOTO’ is exclusively formulated for Honda’s two-wheelers.

Providing longer engine life protection, enhanced fuel efficiency with low maintenance cost, Honda Repsol MOTO BIKER & MOTO SCOOTER engine oil promises a quick start with rapid acceleration along with deposit-free engine components.

The co-branded engine oil comes in 2 exclusive grades - ‘Honda Repsol MOTO BIKER 10W30 MA’ for Honda motorcycles and ‘Honda Repsol MOTO SCOOTER 10W30 MB’ for Honda scooters.

Both the engine oil variants come in 800 ML, 900 ML & 1000 ML packs and are available in the open-market from November 2020.

Speaking on this new synergy, Mr Pradeep Kumar Pandey, Senior Vice President – Customer Service, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “Customer satisfaction is at the core of Honda 2Wheelers India. With the aim of providing quality products & services to our customers, we have joined hands with Repsol Lubricants to launch a new product ‘Honda Repsol MOTO’ Engine Oil specially developed & approved by Honda Motor Co. Ltd Japan for the engine of Honda two-wheelers. This strategic step will help us make the engine oil available to customers at all GP Petroleums outlets, thus further enhancing their riding & ownership experience.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Clara Velasco- Director Lubricants, Repsol said “Repsol and Honda have been partners in the Repsol Honda MotoGP team for 26 years, and all the experience we have acquired developing lubricants for this demanding level of competition is passed onto our commercial products. We are excited to strengthen this alliance by launching these co-branded lubricants in India which will allow us to extend the range of our products.”

Speaking on the product launch, Mr Prashanth Achar, CEO, GP Petroleums Ltd. said “We are delighted to partner with Honda and bring the Repsol-Honda winning formula to India by launching the co-branded pack for the Indian motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts. Honda Repsol Moto is made from premium quality base oil and formulations. This partnership marks our entry into the OEM driven co-branded two-wheeler lubricant segment.”

About Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) - the 100% subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Japan (World’s No.1 two-wheeler company) started its operations in May 2001. In its 20th year, Honda has grown to become India’s 2nd largest two-wheeler company with over 48 million happy customers in India with a diverse BS-VI product portfolio spanning 4 automatic scooters, 7 motorcycles and 3 premium big bikes.

About Repsol:

Repsol is global multi energy company that is working to facilitate the transition to a lower emissions energy model, and sells lubricants in more than 85 countries. The energy company and the Japanese vehicle manufacturer, Honda, have been partners since 1995 in the world’s premier motorcycling championship, Moto GP. The Repsol Honda Team, with 15 MotoGP Championships, is one of the most successful teams in international motor racing. The lessons learnt and the technology developed at this demanding level of competition are transferred to all the products that the two companies offer their clients.

About GP Petroleums Ltd:

GP Petroleums Ltd., a major player in the lubricants industry, is a listed company in India and ranks among the top 1000 companies in terms of market capitalization. The Company's brand is trusted lubricant solutions provider for over 47 years. It has an exclusive license agreement with REPSOL SA, Spain to manufacture and market REPSOL brand of lubricants in India and South Asia to cater to the premium lubricant segment. The company has presence in more than 12 countries and in India has a strong network of 24 warehouses and 500+ distributors across the B2B & B2C space.

Enterprises Turn Their Attention to Digital Transformation and Cloud Security as Pandemic Drags On

* CLOUDSEC 2020 conference goes completely virtual this year, featuring three days of keynotes, 200 breakout sessions, and eight hands-on labs for security and cloud professionals

In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, digital transformation and cloud security (79%) are the chart-topping topics enterprises want to know more about. They are followed by threat and vulnerability research (62%), and risk and compliance (49%), as shown by a pre-event survey of 2,064 business and IT decision-makers across Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The survey is a precursor to Trend Micro’s (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), CLOUDSEC 2020 conference, one of the industry's biggest cybersecurity events, taking place from November 24 to November 26. 

The results are unsurprising to an extent, given how many companies have accelerated their digital transformation projects and migration to the cloud, while the pandemic continues to wield debilitating influence over workplace collaboration, productivity, and the bottom line across many industries. To survive is to innovate and take up new technologies. 

The respondents also identify with each other when it comes to the biggest pain points. The survey shows that they most frequently grapple with the inability to detect and respond to advanced threats (32%), which have seen a sharp increase since the pandemic started in the first quarter of the year; and the perennial shortage of security skills (32%), as cybercrimes become more sophisticated and security operations, more complex. 

Other common challenges include getting cloud security automation and configuration right (31%); asking for more budget for cybersecurity (28%); obtaining complete visibility of threat vectors across the entire organization (26%); and constantly having to justify cybersecurity investment (25%). 

When it comes to acquiring hands-on experiences, respondents are most looking forward to learning about automated security and compliance posture remediation (68%), indicating that many of them are already operating in the cloud environment and are dealing with misconfiguration-led cybersecurity issues. As a matter of fact, misconfigurations in the cloud are the primary cause for cloud-based cyberattacks. 

Respondents are also interested in tackling real-life scenarios that pertain to web application protection and serverless security (63%), a sign that many of them are further along the cloud journey. The third most sought-after hands-on topic revolves around deploying network-based virtual patches and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) (52%), showing that system vulnerabilities continue to be a major headache for security teams across the board. 

"2020 is a year of profound challenges for enterprises. But on the bright side, companies are realizing their digital potential," said Dhanya Thakkar, senior vice president, Trend Micro, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. "At this year's CLOUDSEC, we want to celebrate these companies and their successful effort in digitally transforming themselves. The tech industry is one of the few that have not faltered under the weight of the pandemic. It goes to show the importance of technology on business operations." 

This is the tenth anniversary of the CLOUDSEC conference and it goes completely virtual this year. Across three full days, the event will welcome keynote speakers from industry-defining companies including Amazon Web Services (AWS), DXC Technology, Dyson, IAG, IBM, IDC, Infosys, IKEA, LINE, Lotte, Proficio, Snyk, a mysterious ethical hacker, and a prominent UAE bank. 

The three-day cloud security extravaganza will also feature more than 200 breakout tracks; as well as eight hands-on labs, addressing the needs of both the business and technical professionals. 

Over 100 Scientists Join Hands with United Nations to Build Public Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines Through Team Halo

As the world eagerly awaits the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines, the United Nations has collaborated with The Vaccine Confidence Project at the University of London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to undertake Team Halo, an initiative which aims to counter the misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines. As per a recent survey conducted by LocalCircles, 61 per cent respondents from India said that they are sceptical about COVID-19 vaccines and would prefer not to take it immediately even if it is made available by early next year. This is worrying news for scientists working to develop vaccines that will put an end to the pandemic.

Through this initiative, over 100 scientists have joined hands to tackle the issue of misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines and build confidence by busting myths and sharing information on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines on social media. Globally, the initiative is supported by scientists who are involved in the race of coronavirus vaccine development across the world’s top institutes like Imperial College London, Harvard Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, University of Barcelona and many others. In India, over 22 scientists have joined Team Halo from renowned institutes such as Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar; PGIMER, Chandigarh; Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad; IIT Indore; Christian Medical College, Vellore; SRM Research Institute, Chennai; and Deep Children's Hospital and Research Centre, Gandhidham.

Speaking about the initiative, Dr Gagandeep Kang, Professor of Microbiology at Christian Medical College Vellore, Chair of the Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the World Health Organisation South East Asian Region and a Team Halo contributor who works on vaccine development, clinical and laboratory evaluation of vaccines and vaccination policy said “At my institution we are studying how COVID-19 reinfection operates and I am excited about opening up the story of the search for COVID-19 vaccines for the public. People want to know about the science and stories behind the headlines, and I’m delighted to be experimenting with social media to make serious points in creative ways.”

Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications said “Rampant misinformation has undermined public trust in vaccines. Team Halo is about reclaiming that trust. These are incredible people doing exciting science as part of a global collaboration. We should be celebrating them for helping us get to the end of this awful pandemic.”

Team Halo India will also allow scientists to respond to questions from the public and directly counter vaccine misinformation and rumours spreading in parts of the internet. 

Dr Shiv Pillai, Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences & Technology at Harvard Medical School, said “Science is a universal endeavour. We hear a lot about the efforts of individual countries to find a vaccine, but the reality is that this has always been a global effort. Whether it’s the international teams working in any given laboratory or the collaboration across borders since the first days of this crisis, we have been trying to stop this virus together.”

Besides India, Team Halo aims to highlight the work undertaken by scientists in the UK, USA, South Africa, Qatar, UAE, France, Spain, Peru, Canada and Brazil and create a platform for communication between the scientists working on COVID-19 vaccines and the citizens of these countries. Collectively they are producing creative, social media-friendly videos on topics such as COVID-19 vaccine science, personal experiences and reactions to COVID-19 vaccine news items. Scientists participating in Team Halo are keen to emphasise the global nature of their work and recognise the contribution made by thousands around the world.

NOTES:

●        Team Halo is supported by the United Nations Verified Initiative, the Vaccine Confidence Project and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, Luminate, IKEA Foundation, Global Challenges Foundation and UN Foundation.

●        #TeamHaloIndia videos can be found at https://www.instagram.com/teamhalo_in

●        A full list of scientists from around the globe can be found at https://teamhalo.org

●        ‘Halo’ refers to the ring of connected science that spans the globe

Syska Launches Its Latest BT4070X Powerful Bass Wireless Speaker

Syska Accessories, a leading player in the mobile accessories segment has launched the BT4070X Powerful Bass Wireless Speaker. The wireless Bluetooth speaker brings super clarity sound to your music as the product comes equipped with HD Bass. Syska has introduced a compact and light weight speaker which is perfect for all those house parties as well as outdoor treks.

Syska BT4070X Powerful Bass Wireless Speaker offers a powerful output of 4W, 50MM bass drivers and comes with a Micro USB Cable. Syska mobile accessories offer a wide range of high-quality products such as Bluetooth earphones, power banks, wireless headsets, car chargers and more.

As per an industry report, the Indian Wireless Speaker Market is expected to reach a CAGR of 10% during the forecast period 2020-2025. The increased penetration of smartphones, internet access at lower rates, growing demand for portability and flexibility, and rapid technology development and adoption are some of the factors influencing the growth of the market.

Commenting on the launch of new wireless speaker, Ms. Jyotsna Uttamchandani, Executive Director, Syska Group said, “We at Syska are committed towards introducing new and innovative products for our customers, that are both easy-to-use and of top-notch quality. Our latest product, the Syska BT4070X Wireless Speaker offers both of these and is fully ‘Made in India’, perfectly in line with the Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat mission. We believe that wireless technology is the future and as consumer adoption of such products is seeing an upswing, we are absolutely thrilled to provide both value for money and convenience to our customers, through the Syska BT4070X Wireless Speaker.”

Here are the salient features of Syska BT4070X Powerful Bass Wireless Speaker:

BIS certified

* BIS Certified – Syska Wireless speaker is BIS certified and comes with a micro USB cable for charging using a DC port.

4WRADIATOR

* Working time and output – Syska BT4070X offers a power output of 4W and 50MM bass driver size. It comes with a passive radiator offering superior boost. The working time of the speaker is upto 4 hours so one can enjoy listening to their favourite music without any interruptions.

Compact & Durable

* Light weight and portable – One of the biggest advantages of the speaker is that it can easily fit into your bag as it is quite compact and light in weight which makes it portable.

Powerful BassFeartures

* HD Bass Sound – The speaker offers HD Bass sound that will bring super clarity sound to your music and enrich your music listening experience with its boosting technology. It has a frequency range of 60Hz to 20KHz.

FUNCTIONS

* Multiple buttons – BT4070X speaker comes with multiple buttons such as short press for changing song, long press for volume, play/ pause or pickup call, power on/ off and LED indicator.

INPUTS

* Inputs – The speaker comes with 4 ports-one for auxiliary wire with 3.5mm audio jack, TF card slot (similar to micro SD card slot), USB-A slot and micro USB slot.

TITLE

* Made in India – Syska BT4070X Powerful Bass Wireless Speaker has been manufactured in India.

Wirreless speaker

* Easy compatibility – The Syska speaker is truly wireless and can be easily connected with your smartphone using Bluetooth technology.

Syska BT4070X wireless speaker is priced at Rs. 1499/- and can be bought from leading retail stores. The product comes with a twelve-month warranty and is available in black, blue and grey colours.

About SYSKA Accessories

Today's world is connected and integrates devices into everyone's day to day life. SYSKA Accessories offers a wide range of advanced accessories that are tailor made to enrich your experience. From wireless speakers to head sets and ear phones, from power banks to travel and car chargers, charging and sync cables, the segment offers only the latest innovations of the highest international quality and ease of use. SYSKA Accessories products are of superior quality and priced fairly. In order to cater to the dynamic consumer base, SYSKA Accessories are available in leading retail outlets in general trade, modern trade and on e-commerce platforms.

New Report Shows Teleconsultations Up 25% Post-Lockdown in India

myUpchar, India’s fastest growing health start-up announced today that its teleconsultations arm has continued to grow in the post-lockdown phase. The health-tech company witnessed a growth of 25% in the three months since July, while it had previously reported a 300% growth during the lockdown period. This is contrary to popular expectations. The data is based on a first-of-its-kind report by myUpchar on the state of teleconsulting in Bharat. Titled “Emergence of Teleconsultation in Bharat: How Bharat has leveraged Teleconsultation since lockdown”, the new report collates data over six months till September 2020, consisting of the lockdown and post-lockdown phases, to glean important insights into who is using teleconsultation today, where, how much and for what. 

Some salient points to come out of this report are:

●     Consultations for dependents—that is, children under 18 and parents over 60—grew 80% after the lockdown was lifted, in a huge vote of confidence from the patients’ guardians.

●     90% of teleconsultation requests on myUpchar come from people living outside the major metros and capital cities; with more than half coming from Tier 3 and beyond.

●     Expectedly, teleconsultation requests are higher in states that have poorer health scores and infrastructure.

●     More and more women are seeking medical advice via teleconsulting. While women in Tier 1 are the largest female customer base for the company currently, encouragingly, more women from Tiers 2, 3 and 4 are starting to reach out now.

●      Over 64% of patients asked for online consultations with an allopathic doctor from June-August 2020. The share of Ayurveda consultations was 24.3% and Homoeopathy, 11.4%, in this period.

Releasing the report, the founders of the company - Rajat Garg and Manuj Garg - credited the sustained rise in teleconsultations to growing trust in teleconsulting, the quality of experience that myUpchar offers and a positive shift in people’s perception of online health services in the post-Covid world. The founders also felt that the government’s Telemedicine Practice Guidelines helped cement this position in a big way, by removing doubts and uncertainties in the minds of experienced doctors and specialists. “India’s telemedicine industry had been chugging along for over 15 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, our doctors rose to the challenge of providing healthcare to people who had Covid-like symptoms as well as patients who couldn’t access regular health centres and clinics during the lockdown,” said Dr Manuj Garg, co-founder, myUpchar. “It’s a credit to our doctors that they handled the surge in consultations with such integrity and compassion. We are seeing the results of their efforts in terms of repeat consultations and more confidence among users. It helps that our partner chemists and labs were able to fill prescriptions and run tests during and after the lockdown with alacrity and precision.”

Rajat Garg, CEO and Founder, myUpchar will be happy to talk to you regarding the report further in detail as per your interest. The percentage statistics and spokesperson insights have been mentioned further in the report. Please let me know if you would like to have a look at it. I am happy to help you with any other queries that you may have and keep in touch with you for the relevant industry stories that you may be working on.

Discovery Plus inspires Indian audiences with Emmy nominated sports docu-series “Being Serena”

* Sports docu-series, “Being Serena”, is an intimate, first-person account of the life and success of Grand Slam champion Serena Williams

* Follow Serena Williams –the former World #1 in Women’s Tennis on and off the court – over five no-holds-barred, all-access episodes

Discovery Plus, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, hits an ace with its latest Emmy nominated sports docu-series that follows pivotal moments in the life of former world No. 1 Tennis champion, Serena Williams. Titled “Being Serena”, the five-episode documentary series produced by HBO Sports and IMG’s Original Content, showcases game-changing moments in her professional and personal life, tracking her pregnancy, motherhood, comeback and more. The India-exclusive launch of this unique, first-person account starts November 17, thus further expanding the range of sports offerings on Discovery Plus.

Serena Williams’ success story goes well beyond her 23 singles women’s grand slam titles, 39 grand slams overall and four Olympic Gold Medals. Since her return to the court after embracing motherhood, Serena rose to dominance once again, qualifying for four grand slam finals between 2018 and 2019. While not serving in the court, Serena supports minorities and women by funding their businesses through her VC Serena Ventures.

Speaking on the occasion, the all-time great women’s singles tennis player, Serena Williams said, “Being Serena is very close to my heart – it captured my life during some of the most unforgettable and challenging moments in a really honest way. For me, Being Serena is a tribute to all of the women who have gotten back to work – or in my case back on the court – after becoming a mother. I am excited that my fans in India will have a chance to see my story.”

Speaking on the India launch of ‘Being Serena’; Issac John, Digital Head, APAC – Discovery, said, “Serena Williams is not only an extraordinarily talented sporting hero, but she has also lived an exemplary life off the court, making her a true role model. One doesn’t have to be a tennis fan to be awed by her incredible resilience and grit and we are delighted to provide Indian audiences with this never-seen-before access into the life and the journey of a living legend.”

Apart from her grand slam success the women’s tennis legend has also been bestowed with many awards due to her sheer dominance in the world of women’s tennis which include Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year honors in 2015 and a four-time awardee of the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, first in 2002 and most recently in 2015.

Watch 'Being Serena' on Discovery Plus from November 17, 2020 onwards

About Discovery Plus

‘Discovery Plus’ is an exciting new D2C streaming app, launched to satiate the unmet need of a differentiated product offering premium real-life entertainment. Priced competitively with an introductory offer price of INR 299 per annum, the app has been developed and curated specifically for India.  Discovery Plus offers thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres, including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in 8 languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali & Marathi.  The premium subscribers have access to a large selection of never-seen-before Premium Discovery titles, must-watch documentaries, India originals and exclusive acquisitions. Free users of the app have access to all-time favorites from the Discovery and Animal Planet library and a dedicated shorts section.

Honeywell Make's Significant Investment in Trinity Mobility, with Path to Full Ownership, Accellerate Smart Cities Leadership

* Investment focuses on management of a connected infrastructure, which can help make cities safer, more sustainable and more livable for citizens

Honeywell (NYSE: HON), a global leader in connected buildings, announced today a strategic investment in Trinity Mobility Private Limited, an India-based software company and provider of the leading internet of things (IoT) Smart Cities platform and software applications. This strategic investment will allow Honeywell to expand its smart cities capabilities by providing access to Trinity’s Smart City solutions, which integrate information from various systems across a city in a common interface and allow operators to better assess, operate and manage the city’s connected infrastructure. Together, Honeywell’s and Trinity’s smart cities solutions help make cities safer and more livable for citizens while helping customers manage and reduce their emissions.

This strategic investment, which is structured to provide Honeywell with a path to full ownership of Trinity, will allow Honeywell to more fully partner with cities that are expanding their smart city deployments or integrating new systems. Trinity’s capabilities complement Honeywell’s technologies for smart cities and global expertise in delivering integrated solutions for mission critical systems.

The Smart Cities IoT solution, called the Honeywell City Suite, can seamlessly aggregate information from traffic, environment, parking, emergency services, safety and security, and utilities – among other areas – in a single, unified view. In addition to enhancing the efficiency of cities, these solutions can also be applied to retirement communities, large planned residential communities, university campuses and large industrial communities that want to provide a more connected living experience.

“Many of the world’s cities are facing significant operational and sustainability challenges stemming from urbanization, including unexpected crises, infrastructure issues, environmental and safety concerns, and the expanding needs of citizens,” said Vimal Kapur, president and chief executive officer, Honeywell Building Technologies. “The combined capabilities of Honeywell and Trinity can allow cities of all sizes to improve services and provide a better experience for their citizens. In addition, the data generated from these technologies can help improve cities’ ability to plan, helping create a more hospitable and livable environment for its citizens.”

Founded and based in Bengaluru, Trinity creates software solutions that help manage large, complex installations like those needed for smart cities. Honeywell and Trinity have worked together for more than five years to deploy multiple smart city projects, including Faridabad in Haryana and the New Administrative Capital of Egypt. Honeywell’s strategic investment will allow it to expand the reach of its smart cities capabilities to additional international markets.

“We look forward to expanding our relationship with Honeywell to offer customers a complete technology solution for the complex integrations that are needed to create a truly smart city,” said M Ashok Kumar (Mak), founder and chief executive officer, Trinity. “Our combined expertise and Smart Cities IoT platform provide tremendous connected opportunities for smart city solutions globally for both existing and emerging cities to meet their sustainability and productivity goals as well as create a more engaging citizen experience.”

According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 68 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, compared to 55 percent today. Overcrowding, traffic congestion, security concerns, as well as rising water and demand for utilities, are driving the market for intelligent solutions and investment in smart city technologies. A big focus of these investments is in sensors, IoT, security and cloud-based platforms that can capture and analyze and provide real-time information and insights that can boost safety, security and energy efficiency.

Honeywell’s smart city systems connect more than 100,000 IoT sensors and touch the lives of more than 100 million people. The company’s solutions help create actionable insights that city authorities and municipalities can use to improve their situational awareness, economic development and quality of life for residents.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed. The investment is pending customary deal closing conditions.