Discovery Channel is Back with Season 2 of ‘Feelin Alive’, Featuring Amol Parashar and Cyrus Sahukar

After a long time of being cooped up at home, a lot us are craving that feeling of exhilaration that comes from participating in extreme adventure sports. The adrenalin rush, the sheer excitement, the butterflies in the stomach before taking the plunge are all hallmarks of what great adventures look like! Discovery Channel, the country’s leading real-life entertainment channel, is all set to bring back the thrill of extreme sports with an exciting new season of its beloved adventure reality series Feelin Alive Season 2, this time, helmed by two very dynamic and talented hosts Amol Parashar and Cyrus Sahukar. Presented by Mi 10T pro and in partnership with Audible, White Hat Jr., Renault, Amul and Ather energy, Feelin Alive Season 2 premieres on 28th December, 2020 on Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, TLC and TLC HD.

Shot in one of the most beautiful locations in India, Manali, the show will take the viewers on an adventure to conquer the extreme and experience that adrenaline rush that they’ve been craving for some time now. The four-part series will see the hosts Amol Parashar and Cyrus Sahukar as they go around Manali discovering the unknown and overcoming their fears. Training under experts, the duo will set out to perform some the extreme sports including slacklining at Jagat Sukh, canyoning at Jogini Falls, snowboarding at Solang Valley and ATV off-roading. This action-packed season is sure to make the viewers feel alive!

Speaking about his experience, Amol Parashar said, “It was an amazing experience. I have never felt such thrill in my life! Manali is such a beautiful place, but this time, it was more than just the beauty of this place that I got to savor. That adrenaline rush and the thrill of trying something new for the first time, was priceless. To be honest, it was a bit nerve wracking for me before I tried these extreme sports. But once I got into it, I was loving every moment of it! I am grateful to Discovery Channel for such an awesome show, which I not only enjoyed shooting, but one that also helped me overcome my fears.”

Sharing his experience, Cyrus Sahukar said, “I thoroughly enjoyed myself while shooting for Feelin Alive Season 2. It was a fun and a very beautiful experience being in Manali. I feel, trying new things really helps you overcome your fears. I would watch people doing all these things and being all cool, on Discovery Channel in fact, but never had the courage to do this on my own, until now. And boy am I glad to have had the opportunity. This is going to be one experience I will remember for the rest of my life!”

Megha Tata, Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery Communications India said, “Discovery has been synonymous with real life entertainment in India and shows like Feelin Alive further enhance that offering. We are delighted to bring back the extreme adventure show Feelin Alive, and collaborate with Mi 10T Pro to drive synergies and accompany the new hosts, Cyrus Sahukar and Amol Parashar on this adventurous journey. We are also happy to associate with some of the leading brands for this show, including Audible, White Hat Jr., Amul, Renault, Ather Energy and Behrouz Biryani.”

“We are extremely delighted to partner with Discovery India and embark on an adventurous journey with ‘Feelin Alive’, one of their renowned and thrilling shows. Today smartphones define not only the way we plan and execute our travels but also how we document them. Owing to the unprecedented advancement in technology, smartphones have definitely ousted traditional cameras, especially for travel photography,” said Manu Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Mi India. “Allowing users to create and share visual content using smartphone, the Mi 10T Pro which has been featured in this show, is an epitome of technology and creativity and is a perfect companion for all power users.”

Watch ‘Feelin Alive Season 2’, premiering on 28th December only on Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel HD, TLC and TLC HD.

About Discovery India:

Discovery India, country’s leading real life entertainment player, is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its portfolio of 14 channels including Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, Animal Planet, Animal Planet HD, TLC, TLC HD, Investigation Discovery, Investigation Discovery HD, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Kids, DTamil and sports channels Eurosport and Eurosport HD. From survival to natural history, wonders of science to extreme jobs, motoring to travel and lifestyle, and the latest engineering marvels to original content productions to live sporting events, each channel offers distinct must-watch programming to engage viewers across the country. 

Clumio Launches RansomProtect: Industry's First Air-Gapped Ransomware Protection for Private Cloud, Public Cloud and SaaS

Clumio™ Inc., innovators of authentic SaaS for enterprise backup, today announced Clumio RansomProtect™, the industry’s first air-gapped ransomware protection, with 30-day retention for VMware / VMware Cloud on AWS, Amazon Web Services (EC2/RDS/EBS), and Microsoft M365 data, with rapid granular recovery from anywhere. 

Clumio RansomProtect provides the industry’s fastest time to protection by eliminating the need for businesses to locate a second air gap site, buy more hardware, manage a separate backup network or manage air gap network security. Offered as a service, Clumio RansomProtect can be set up in 15 minutes or less. Platform security features include: Immutable storage, end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication and a “bring your own key” option. Clumio RansomProtect also meets ISO 27001, PCI, AICPA SOC, and HIPAA certification and compliance designations.

No Business Is Immune to Growing Ransomware Threat 

Ransomware fears escalated earlier this year when bad actors targeted the healthcare sector. The increased threat to healthcare organizations prompted the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to issue an advisory that urged healthcare providers to take immediate action to prevent an attack. Although healthcare is the recent target, no organization is immune to ransomware attacks. Security researchers have tracked a growing ransomware threat during Q3 2020, including a massive spike in September of this year. During that time, the U.S. has seen a staggering 145.2 million ransomware hits – a 139 percent YoY increase.

“Our research shows that there has been an increase in ransomware issues amidst COVID-19. It should be a call to action for businesses in all sectors to examine vulnerable endpoints within enterprise networks. Proactive prevention and planning are key,” said Christophe Bertrand, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “Companies should evaluate SaaS-based solutions like Clumio RansomProtect that help protect the data in their private and public cloud infrastructures and SaaS applications. ‘True’ air-gapped protection accounts for all data locations and sources, including data in transit. Bad actors are not going to stop, meaning enterprises must take action now to resolve vulnerabilities created by these gaps – it’s a matter of business survival.” 

Not All Air Gap Solutions Are Created Equal

“Traditional approaches to ransomware protection are way too complex, requiring additional hardware on-premises or the need to replicate snapshots in the public cloud,” added Chadd Kenney, vice president and chief technologist, Clumio. “The end result is weeks or months of implementation, high costs, and heavy management, all while ultimately not providing the level of protection organizations require. Enterprises demand a greater level of protection. Clumio RansomProtect delivers the fastest time to protection, even if you have an existing backup solution, and no matter where your data resides.”

Accessible, Affordable, Immediate Air Gap Protection with Clumio

The ever-growing threat of ransomware has prompted organizations to explore air-gapped protection for their data. However, cost remains a major barrier for these companies. Companies seeking a native air gap backup solution for their VMware Cloud or AWS EC2 workloads could ultimately pay more than two times what they are currently paying with no air gap backup protection, when local snapshots, remote snapshots and replication costs are factored in. In comparison, customers that complement their existing native non-air gap protected backup solution with Clumio RansomProtect can save more than 20 percent. Meanwhile, customers that completely replace their native backup solution with Clumio achieve an air-gapped backup while boosting their cost savings by as much as 67 percent.  

Renowned for the quality and breadth of its more than 61,000 objects that span 6,000 years of achievement in the arts, The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) recently deployed Clumio for data protection. Tom Hood, director of technology operations, The Cleveland Museum of Art, added, “As ransomware evolved and hackers began targeting not only businesses’ primary storage but also backups, I found myself having sleepless nights. Clumio RansomProtect provides CMA with a secure way to protect our growing hybrid cloud infrastructure. The fact that we can unify our backup and retention policies across all of the various technologies that we use is a good solution.”

Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda Launches OPPI Annual Summit, Healthcare Accelerated

 Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda, today launched the 9th edition of  Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI)’s Annual Summit - Healthcare Accelerated with the theme India’s Healthcare Transformational Journey, through the virtual platform.

The two-day summit began with an address by OPPI President Sharad Tyagi on ‘Reimagining India’s Healthcare in the next decade’, followed by an address by OPPI Director General, K G Ananthakrishanan on ‘Refreshing Research’. 

The first day of the Summit witnessed key note speeches by Ms S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals; and Dr Shamika Ravi, former member of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and Research Director at the Brookings Institution, US.

Launching the Summit, Shri Sadananda Gowda commended the efforts  of global and Indian companies, research institutes, government regulators and hospitals for supporting the COVID19 vaccine development and its clinical trials. “India is often referred to as 'the pharmacy of the world.' This has been proven completely true during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when India continued to produce and export critical life-saving medicines to the rest of the world. The contribution of Indian pharmaceutical sector has been reinforced during this pandemic year when the companies, global and Indian, stepped in and stepped up their efforts in service of the country. I have no doubt to believe that these collaborations and the maturity demonstrated by the collaborations are going to define the Indian pharmaceutical sector in the years ahead.”

He further added, “India has attracted large scale inflow of foreign direct investment to the pharmaceutical sector and the Medical Devices sector. As a matter of record, pharmaceuticals export from India was over 20 billion dollars in the year 2019-20 and is expected to cross 25 billion dollars by the end of the current financial year. This was at a time when the domestic market has crossed 22 billion dollars last year. It is indeed poised for much higher growth.”

The summit conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Y.K. Hamied, founder of Cipla Ltd and the Special Recognition Award to Dr V G Somani, Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI).

In a special session on COVID19 Vaccine Updates, Jaak Peeters, Johnson & Johnson Special Envoy for COVID-19 Vaccine and Narender Mantena, Head of Global Strategy & CEO, Specialty Generic Injectables & Synthetic Biology, Biological E Ltd shared the global efforts on vaccine development with Sarthak Ranade, Managing Director of Janssen India.

On December 18, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Shipping, Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya will present the Acess Awards - for Outstanding contribution in Child Health to Dr. Aparna Hegde, Founder, Chairperson and Managing Trustee of ARMMAN; and for Outstanding contribution in Healthcare Access to Harmala Gupta, Independent Non-Profit Organization Management Professional, Founder & President, CanSupport.

OPPI annual scientitst awards will be presented to three emiment scientists by the Director General of CSIR and Secretary, DSIR, Dr Shekhar Mande. This year’s awardees are Dr Debabrata Dash, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi as the OPPI Scientist of the Year; Dr Rituparna Sinha Roy, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata as the OPPI Woman Scientist of the Year; and Dr Arun Kumar Shukla, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur as the OPPI Young Scientist of the Year.

The Summit will host five panel discussions on ‘India’s Healthcare Tranformation journey’ and the role of Finance, Technology, Trust and Quality in Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals sectors with Indian and global experts from governments, regulators, the industry, NGOs and the academia.

The two-day session will end tomorrow with a conversation with Mrs. Neerja Birla, founder & chairperson, Aditya Birla Education Trust on the siginificance of mental health during the current COVID19 crisis.

Commenting on the Summit Sharad Tyagi said, “OPPI is glad to bring such high voltage disucssions on India’s Healthcare transformation during these testing times. Healthcare and pharmaceutical industry have worked hand in hand with the government and the regulators in the last 10 months to ensure that the COVID virus is controlled in our country with all our might. The summit will pave way to take these collaborations and partnerships to the next level.”

K.G. Ananthakrishnan, said, “Today more than ever, the world is looking for research and innovations to combat dieseases. As a society, we need to recognise and reward high risk innovations to strengthen the industry and thereby benefit the patients”.

About OPPI

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) established in 1965, represents the research-based pharmaceutical companies in India. OPPI remains committed to supporting the nation’s healthcare objectives and collaborating with all stakeholders to find sustainable solutions. OPPI believes the need for innovation must be balanced with the necessity for more accessible medicines, within a robust IP environment. 

HFCL Starts Commercial Production of FTTH Cables from New Facility in Hyderabad

HFCL’s new Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) Cable manufacturing Facility at Hyderabad, Telangana has commenced commercial production of Optical Fiber Cables for Fiber to Home Applications, w.e.f. 16th December, 2020. With the start of this new Facility at Hyderabad, HFCL together with its subsidiary company, viz. HTL Limited, has become the largest manufacturer of FTTH cables in India with a capacity of 6 lakh kms per annum.

The Company had earlier invested Rs.260 crores in Hyderabad Plant for the manufacturing of Optical Fiber that was commissioned in January, 2020. This new state-of-the-art, automated high-speed FTTH cable Facility has come up with a fresh outlay of Rs.40 crores to ensure high throughput, economies of scale and highest quality standards. Thus far, Rs.300 crores have been invested in Hyderabad Facility as part of the Company’s expansion roadmap.

Speaking on this development, Mr. Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director, HFCL said, “Our latest Facility in Hyderabad makes HFCL the largest FTTH player in the Country. India is seeing buoyant FTTH activity driven by private telcos and Government’s thrust on rural network deployment. Expanding FTTH rollouts will not only boost our Country’s 4G connectivity but it will also enhance our readiness for 5G. The momentum in penetration of high-speed internet, increasing investment in digital networks and growing demand for affordable access makes us excited to serve the next generation communication needs of customers in India and across the globe.”

The FTTH cable Plant has backward integration for supplies of major raw materials like Optical Fiber and ARP rods from the Company’s existing manufacturing Facilities, further strengthening the supply chain.

Apart from supplying FTTH cables to telecom service providers in India, HFCL will also be exporting them to more than 30 countries where the Company is already having its presence. The Company will be marketing the FTTH Cables under its brand name of HFCL.

The Company’s R&D facilities are developing different variants of new cables which will also be manufactured from the newly set up Facility at Hyderabad.   

About HFCL:

HFCL Limited (formerly Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited) is a leading technology enterprise engaged in manufacturing of high end Transmission and Access Equipment, Optical Fiber, Optical Fiber Cables (OFC) and is specialized in setting up modern communication network for Telecom Service Providers, Railways, Defence, Smart City and Surveillance projects.

The Company’s in-house Centre for Excellence in Research located at Gurgaon & Bengaluru along with invested R&D Houses and other collaborators at different locations in India and abroad, innovate futuristic range of technology products and solutions. Some of the newly developed products through in-house R&D are Wi-Fi Systems, Unlicensed Band Radios, Cloud Management Systems and Video Management Systems. There is a suite of products under development which include Electronic Fuses, Electro Optic Devices, Software Defined Radios, Switches, Routers, Intelligent Antenna Systems and Ground Surveillance Radars among others.

The Company has state-of-the-art Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing facilities at Hyderabad, Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing plant in Goa and in its subsidiary i.e. HTL Limited at Chennai along with FRP Rod manufacturing facility in its subsidiary at Hosur. It also has a telecom equipment manufacturing facility at Solan.

The Company has been a consistent performer with revenue and profit CAGR over last 7 years of 27% and 23% respectively along with FY20 RoCE of 21.50% and Debt-Equity ratio of 0.43. The consolidated income in H1FY21 stood at Rs.1762.24 crores and PAT was Rs.74.66 crores.

BIC’s Global Education Week Celebrates Exceptional Educators from Around the World

BIC, world leading Stationery brand and parent company of Cello writing, announced the winners of its ‘BIC Cristal Pen Awards 2020’. Recognized among 10 impactful educators around the world, DilipsinhVihol from the Mahadevapura Primary School in Bengaluru was selected as the winner from India for his exceptional contribution towards his students and for being a beacon of hope and optimism in an academically exigent year.

Globally, the education system has been witnessing a sea-change due to the altering socio-economic landscape triggered by the ongoing pandemic. Through this, teachers have been the crucial connector between students and their schools, going beyond their call of duty to ensure their students continue to find joy in the new methods of learning. In an effort to recognize and honor the valuable contributions of teachers during these unprecedented times, BICintroduced the first edition of its BIC Cristal Pen Awards.Launched in conjunction with the company’s Global Education Week initiative, the award aims to celebrate exceptional educators around the world who inspire and bring joy to children every day while equipping them towards a more empowered future. The nominations of the educators came from BIC employees from around the world and the 10 winners came fromthe US, Australia, India, Uganda, Ethiopia, Brazil, Greece and Turkey.

DilipsinhViholhas been instrumental in blending education and technology and keeping students motivated and engaged during lockdown periods. His teaching methodology is unique andgoeswell beyond the simple textbook theory, combining innovative pedagogy to ensure a more culturally responsive curriculum for his students.  Dilipsinh’s humble background did not deter him from utilizing financial resources from the state and the government forimproving teaching infrastructure for his students. The BIC Cristal Awardsprize includes a grant of €5,000 (INR 4.45 lakhs approx.)and a Cello Stationery product donation towards his school in addition toa custom-designed trophy from Tiffany’s &Co that will be presented for Dilipsinh’sachievements.

Commenting on the new award, Manos Nikolakis, General Manager, BIC Cellosaid, “To invest in our future, we must invest in our children. This is a core tenet to BIC and BIC Cello’s philosophy of improving lives through education. As a company, our vision is to improve learning conditions for 250 million children worldwide by 2025. The BIC Cristal Pen Awards was conceptualized in essence to not just help students, but to also celebrate devoted educators whose resilience, expertise, and contribution in their field often goes unnoticed. For educators, the pandemic has been both an adaptive and transformative experience which had no organized playbook. This award is a recognition of their adaptability in the face of the unforeseen education challenge and protecting their student’s learning opportunities. We would like to congratulate Mr. Vihol for his exceptional contribution towards his school and his students and hope this grant can help him along in his mission towards improving more young lives.”

Award-recipient DilipsinhVihol added, “It is indeed an honor for me to be selected as the BIC Cristal Award top educator for India. This award instils hope in my core belief that educators can play a pivotal role in shaping future leaders by helping them develop essential life skills. This year has been tough on the education system but I am happy to have been able to contribute my bit to successfully navigate challenges to ensure that learning and development of my students could continue unabated.  I express my gratitude to BIC for celebrating educators around the world and for encouraging our community to do better every day. I do hope that we all view this crisis as an opportunity to improve and accelerate and work harder to make our education system strongerand more equitable.”

BIC has long been an advocate for improving lives through education and is committed to enhancing the learning conditions for 250 million children globally by 2025. The Group aims to help children succeed in their education by providing improved learning conditions and in-school infrastructure. In support of this mission and given the constraints on in-person volunteering due to COVID-19, BIC created the BIC Cristal Pen Awards program as part of its annual Global Education Week. Whether classes are virtual, in-person or both, the awards aim to acknowledge the extraordinary work done by 10 educators globally through an open nomination programme for BIC team members.

ABOUT BIC

BIC is a world leader in stationery, lighters, and shavers. For more than 75 years, the Company has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands and is a trademark registered worldwide. Today, BIC products are sold in more than 160 countries around the world and feature iconic brands such as Cello®, Conté®, BIC FlexTM, Lucky Stationery, Made For YOUTM, Soleil®, Tipp-Ex®, Wite-Out® and more. In 2019,BIC Net Sales were 1,949.4 million euros. The Company is listed on “Euronext Paris,” is part of the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable development and education. It received an A- Leadership score from CDP. 

Indian Government to Spend Rs 10,000 Crore to Vaccinate 30 Crore Indians on Priority Basis

The government will be spending about Rs 10,000 crore to inoculate the priority group of 30 crore Indians in the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive.  Phase 1 of the vast inoculation will be funded by the central government. If sources are to be believed, the government is unwilling to take loans from international banks for funding the colossal vaccination drive.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update: 30 Crore Indians to be Inoculated by August-September 2021, India's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 98,62,080 with 50,356 infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 78 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 92.41 per cent. 

Union  Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that the Centre’s aim is to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to almost 30 crore Indians by August-September 2021. Also Read - Private Schools Entitled to Charge 70% of Tuition Fee For Online Classes 

Ahead of the roll-out of a credible vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the Narendra Modi-led government has initiated the process of the vaccine delivery, including identifying people who will be inoculated first. Also Read - India's Coronavirus Tally Surpasses 1 Crore-Mark.

As of now, four categories have been demarcated that will be administered the vaccine against the deadly virus first.  

* Healthcare professionals: One crore medicos including MBBS students, doctors, nurses and ASHA workers will get the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine.

* Frontline workers: 2 crore frontline workers including municipal corporation staffers, police officers and armed forces personnel would also get top priority for immunisation against coronavirus.

* Senior citizens: 26 crore senior citizens, above 50 who usually fall within an age group with high risk for the virus,  have also been identified as priority beneficiaries who would be given vaccine dose in the initial phase.

* Special category people: One crore people below 50 years of age with co-morbidities and requiring specialised care would also be added in the list who would be given vaccine dose in the initial phase.

Reports have claimed that this special COVID-19 immunisation programme would run in parallel with the Universal Immunisation Programme, but will use its processes, technology and network of the existing vaccine distribution framework.

“States have been asked to enlist by mid-November the priority population groups. Each person in the immunisation list will be linked with their Aadhaar cards so as to track them,” a source told news agency PTI. However, in case a person doesn’t have an Aadhaar card, he/she can use any government-issued photo identity card.

Meanwhile, India’s COVID-19 caseload mounted to 84,62,080 with 50,356 infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 78 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 92.41 per cent.

Ikea Opens its Second Outlet in Navi Mumbai Built on an Area Spanning Over 5.3 Lakh Square Feet

Sweden-based Ikea, one of the world’s largest furniture retailer, has opened its second store in India on Friday. The new store is located in Navi Mumbai and is its first big format store in Maharashtra.

The store, built on an area spanning over 5.3 lakh square feet is situated near Turbhe local railway station. Reports suggest that the store has over 7,000 varieties of home furnishing products.

However, customers will not be able to visit the store without a pre-booking — a step that has been taken by Ikea in order to prevent crowding amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Customers will have to visit the store in pre-booked slots, which can be availed through prior registration on Ikea’s website. After the booking process, customers will be allotted a day and time slot to visit the store.

As per Ikea's website, the slots are full for the next two weeks. Since the company is currently accepting two-week advance bookings, the availability of slots is likely to change on a daily basis.

“We are currently following a two-week advance booking opportunity. So new slots open up every day. Further, due to the addition of extra slots or any cancellations, the availability of slots is likely to change on daily basis,” Ikea said on its website.

Ikea had opened its first India retail store in Hyderabad in August 2018, followed by online stores in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune. Ikea has also planned to set up two city-centre stores in Mumbai, according to a company official.