100X.VC Reveals The Names Of 10 Startups That Have Joined Its Class 03 Portfolio

* 100X.VC plans to drive investment of INR 25 crores across 100 startups in 2021

In a bid to strengthen the Indian startup ecosystem, 100X.VC has announced 10 seed-stage startups that are now a part of its Class 03 portfolio. The startups were handpicked from 1,677 applications, out of which, 303 applicants had passed the meticulous initial diligence process.

The names were officially revealed at the VC Pitch Day on the 21st of January, 2021, which was attended by more than 500+ investors, corporate houses, angels, and family houses. Additionally, the repeat session today on 22nd should witness the same number. The innovation-led VC firm has driven the investments worth INR 25 lakh to each of the selected startups via founder-friendly iSAFE notes. iSAFE (India Simple Agreement for Equity) notes were launched in 2019 by 100x.vc and have now become a popular investment instrument for early-stage startups across the industry.

Leading up to the VC Pitch Day, the portfolio companies interacted closely with the team at 100X.VC as part of their finishing school – attending 100+ hours of Masterclass sessions by 50+ expert mentors, industry veterans, successful founders, and venture capitalists who shared their in-depth insights about the startup ecosystem. A few topics addressed Product-Market fit.

The Class 03 Portfolio companies include Vitra.ai, Accio Robotics, Kerala Banana Chips, BurnCal, Solvio, DCode Care, Cora, SaleAssist, Vecros Technologies, and MicroDegree. They belong to multiple categories including Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, F&B, EdTech, SaaS, and Healthcare alongside others.

Speaking on the development, Ninad Karpe, Partner at 100X.VC said, “2021 is off to a good start. After receiving and reviewing 1677 applications for Class 03, we carefully selected only 10 startups. Each startup has a unique breakthrough idea which has the potential to scale into a globally successful business. These startups can impact India significantly by improving the standard of living and changing our outlook to work and life.

At 100x, we were focused on mentoring, advising, and exposing the founders of these startups to masterclasses to convert their product ideas into a fundable business. For our Pitch Day, we are seeing enormous investor from India and around the world from investors wanting to be part of the extraordinary opportunity offered by these startups.”

Class 03 Portfolio Companies:

1.  Vitra.ai (https://vitra.ai) – Bengaluru

Vitra.ai helps content creators reach 8 Bn people in the world with just one click by translating videos and podcasts into 40+ languages through their proprietary deep learning models.

Sector: Artificial Intelligence

2.   Accio Robotics (https://www.acciorobotics.com) – Chennai

Accio Robotics provides hardware solutions in the form of Automated Mobile Robot platforms and Collaborative Bots for various industrial applications in the warehousing, hospitality, and healthcare sectors. 

Sector: Robotics

3.   Kerala Banana Chips  (http://keralabananachips.in) – Cochin

Kerala Banana Chips is a plant-based savoury snack company that makes “better for you” category banana chips for the millennials.

Sector: Food & Beverages

4.   BurnCal  (https://burncal.fit) – Ahmedabad

BurnCal is an AI-based platform built to create a direct line of engagement between you and your own fitness & wellness coach, making personal fitness training accessible and affordable for everyone.

Sector: Health & Fitness

5.  Solvio.ai (https://trysolvio.ai) – Bengaluru

Solvio.ai is an AI-based deep education technology company building the core components for understanding, analyzing, and auto-grading student answers.

Sector: Edtech

6.  DCode Care (https://dcodecare.com) – Bengaluru

DCode Care assists patients with chronic illnesses (such as cancer) discover which doctors and hospitals are best-fit for their clinical condition based on the patient's initial clinical assessment through their proprietary expert recommendation engine.

Sector: Healthcare

7.   Cora (https://www.corahealthcare.in) – Bengaluru

Cora is a Social Commerce Marketplace for Health Foods. Founded by Ex-Flipkart folks, Cora helps customers discover products suited to their health goals from the guidance and recommendation of a trusted online community. 

Sector: Healthcare

8.  SaleAssist (https://saleassist.ai) – Gurugram

SaleAssist provides a multi-channel AI-based solution for e-commerce businesses to enhance customer engagement through the power of affordable, automated video technology.

Sector: B2B SaaS

9.   Vecros Technologies (https://www.vecros.com) – New Delhi

Vecros is building a new standard for drone operations in industrial AI applications that centralizes surveillance, optimizing, and provides enhanced stack and fleet management for enterprises with their proprietary vision-based navigation and other algorithms.

Sector: Drone Tech

10.   MicroDegree (https://www.microdegree.work) – Mangaluru

Micro Degree is a training academy that teaches coding and job-ready skills in vernacular medium to overcome the English language barrier to learn programming.

Sector: Edtech

With the closure of its VC Pitch Day, 100X.VC has marked the start of its Class 04 investment drive. This year, 100X.VC plans to invest INR 25 crores across 100 startups to unlock the true growth potential of the Indian seed-stage startups. All founders/startups are invited to send in their pitch decks to pitch@100x.vc

About 100X.VC: 

100X.VC is India’s first Fund to invest in early-stage startups using iSAFE - India SAFE Notes. The fund is sponsored by Mehta Ventures, the Family Office Investment arm of Sanjay Mehta, to nurture innovative ideas that add value and bring solutions to a problem. 100X.VC values its relationships with founders, co-investors, corporations, and investment bankers and effectively becomes the coach, strategy consultant, investment banker, business mentor, and trusted advisor of the startup after investing.

India's GDP Growth For 2020-21 Projected At (-) 8.0 Percentage

* Growth to recover to 9.6% in 2021-22: FICCI Economic Outlook Survey

* Global vaccination drive to lead the world towards normalcy in 2021

* Key expectations from Union Budget 2021-22 include: Relief package for services sector; Greater investments in infrastructure sector; Tax-breaks to spur consumption; Greater push to disinvestment; and Adequate recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks

The latest round of FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey puts forth an annual median GDP growth forecast for 2020-21 at (-) 8.0%. The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been put at 3.5% for 2020-21. Agriculture sector has exhibited significant resilience in the face of the pandemic. Higher rabi acreage, good monsoons, higher reservoir levels and strong growth in tractor sales indicate continued buoyancy in the sector.

However, industry and services sector, which were most severely hit due to the pandemic induced economic fallout, are expected to contract by (-) 10.0% and (-) 9.2% respectively during 2020-21. The industrial recovery is gaining traction, but the growth is still not broad based. The consumption activity did spur during the festive season as a result of pent-up demand built during the lockdown but sustaining it is important going ahead.

Also, some of the contact intensive service sectors like tourism, hospitality, entertainment, education, and health sector are yet to see normalcy.

The quarterly median forecasts indicate GDP growth to contract by (-) 1.3% in the third quarter of 2020-21. The growth is expected to be in the positive terrain by the fourth quarter with a projection of 0.5% growth.

The present round of FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey was conducted in the month of January 2021 and drew responses from leading economists representing industry, banking and financial services sector.

Further, on the estimates of other macro parameters, the participants put the median growth forecast for IIP at (-) 10.7% for the year 2020-21, with a minimum and maximum range of (-) 12.5% and (-) 9.5% respectively. WPI based inflation rate is projected to be flat in 2020-21. On the other hand, CPI based inflation has a median forecast of 6.5% for 2020-21, with a minimum and maximum range of 5.8% and 6.6% respectively. The latest retail inflation numbers do report some softening on back of a fall in prices of food items, especially vegetables.

On the fiscal front, a slippage is imminent this year and the median estimate for fiscal deficit to GDP ratio was put at 7.4% for 2020-21 by the participants – with a minimum and maximum range of 7.0% and 8.5% respectively. Fiscal deficit for 2020-21 was budgeted at 3.5%.

In addition, the participating economists were asked to share their views on certain contemporary subjects as well especially on the major global and domestic trends that will define 2021 and their expectations from the forthcoming Union Budget 2021-22.

Growth in 2021-22

The year 2020 has been unprecedented with COVID-19 pandemic leaving a deep trail of destruction on the health and economic front.  Participants of the survey expect the economy to perform much better and have projected a median GDP growth rate of 9.6% for the financial year 2021-22. The strong rebound in growth will be supported by a favorable base as economic activity normalizes post the sharp pandemic led contraction. The minimum and maximum growth estimate was forecasted at 7.5% and 12.5% respectively.

However, a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and the appearance of new strains can be a deterrent to the improving growth conditions. It is therefore important that preventive measures continue to be in place. A good vaccine coverage without many cases of adverse reporting will be a pre-requisite for the normalization process.

Key Domestic Trends in 2021: 

Participating economists listed out a string of important trends that could take shape in 2021. On the domestic front, respondents believed that the government’s big push to manufacturing in the form of a series of announcements as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package is likely to bear fruits from 2021 onwards. The Production Linked Incentive Scheme with proposed incentives of around Rs. 1.45 lakh crores for five years is a big development. This along with continuous efforts on easing the business environment, keenness on improving national infrastructure is likely to set the stage for India to become a manufacturing hub.

In addition, economists felt that in the new normal, increased automation will become essential with more businesses adopting the same. Increased level of digitization is anticipated in 2021 across the economy which would ultimately enhance productivity of firms thus providing a much-needed competitive boost.

Respondents highlighted that the above-mentioned measures together are expected to result in increased FDI inflows into the country as companies actively look for alternatives to China.

Agriculture and agro-based sectors have also witnessed a plethora of reforms in 2020 and the changing dynamics in this sector will be one to watch out for in 2021.

On the financial front, economists opined that increased risk might be visible in the banking sector in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic struck the Indian as well as global economy at an unprecedented scale resulting in severely damaged balance sheets of corporations. Until growth firms up on a sustainable basis, banks are likely to remain risk averse, thereby impacting lending. This, in turn, will have implications on personal consumption and private investment.

Lastly, economists participating in the survey believed that improvement in personal consumption is highly contingent upon successful administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. Increased precautionary savings are likely to continue in the meantime. Persistent job losses and salary cuts in some sectors have prodded consumers to remain cautious.

Economists emphasized the need for continuation of an accommodative stance of monetary policy for some more time.

Key Global Trends in 2021:

The respondents believed that large scale global vaccination programme against COVID-19 and gradual normalization and recovery of the world economy will be the highlight of the year 2021.

Participants expect a synchronized global growth recovery supported by continued fiscal and monetary stimulus in 2021.

Economists participating in the survey were deeply concerned about the global liquidity situation which, at present, is significantly in surplus and is finding ways to enter asset markets. The participants called upon global central banks to remain watchful of the situation and not allow overheating of markets.

Despite optimism on the growth front, economists cited persistent risks to unemployment and therefore felt the need for continuous monitoring on that front.

In addition, respondents to the survey emphasized that geo-politics and the resultant impact on trade flows will be keenly looked at especially given the change in the US administration in January 2021. They believed that global trade and value chains will undergo significant changes with positive economic implications during the year.

Participating economists indicated that as the world commences mass vaccination drive to fight the pandemic, focus of policy makers will now shift towards the next big challenge at hand, preserving the environment and addressing climate change.

Expectations from Union Budget 2021-22:

Union Budget 2021-22 will be announced in less than a week.  The participating economists were asked to share their expectations from the Union Budget for driving growth and development of the country. A majority of the participating economists suggested the following:

(i) Increased public expenditure on building infrastructure. They suggested that the government restructure its expenditure in favour of capital spending (in roads, railways, urban and rural infrastructure, housing) along with providing a clear roadmap and financing plans of the National Infrastructure Pipeline announced in the latter part of 2019.

(ii) To enhance revenue collections, economists suggested that government utilizes the current buoyancy in market sentiments to their favour by pushing for disinvestments.

(iii) Need for continuous focus towards ease of doing business while simultaneously reducing the cost of doing business in India.

(iv) A relief package for the services industry particularly those which were most impacted/continue to be deeply impacted by the pandemic including travel & tourism, hospitality, transport, education and healthcare sectors. Economists participating in the survey have called for increased budget allocation for critical social sectors such as health and education given the current situation.

(v) Agriculture and allied activities sector require continuous focus with consolidation of reforms. Spending on creation of agriculture infrastructure must be expedited which would result in enhanced capacity of cold storage and warehousing facilities in the country. Allocation of additional funds towards food processing schemes along with incentives for agri-exports.

(vi) Employment creation and consumption revival remain the key areas for ensuring a sustainable turnaround in economic prospects. Therefore, they called upon the government to announce temporary fiscal stimulus to support consumption in the form of income tax breaks or direct income transfers.

To ease the employment situation in both rural as well as urban areas, greater budget allocations to MGNREGA along with introduction of an urban employment guarantee scheme similar to its rural equivalent.

(vii) Adequate recapitalization of public sector banks is also required and should be included in the upcoming budget.

Cactus Ranks 12th Among The Top 100 Companies To Watch For Remote Jobs In 2021

* The 8th Edition of The Global Award marks the sixth straight year that CACTUS is included in the top 20 of FlexJobs' global list

Cactus Communications, a technology company accelerating scientific advancement, is all set to celebrate its win in FlexJobs' 8th annual list of the ‘Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs in 2021’. CACTUS had one of the highest numbers of remote job openings in 2020 and ranked 12th among approximately 57,000 companies.

Commenting on the win, Abhishek Goel, CEO, Cactus Communications said, “CACTUS has been promoting remote work opportunities for the past ten years. In 2020, we were happy to offer 2,559 new remote positions despite the onset of the pandemic. These positions included freelance, contract, and full-time openings across a wide variety of subject areas for our editorial, translation, and publication support services.”

Echoing his sentiments, Yashmi Pujara, CHRO, Cactus Communications said, “Remote work options offer our employees and freelancers some much-needed flexibility as they reconcile with the new normal. It has enabled a number of our employees to move back to their hometowns while continuing to contribute seamlessly towards their business goals.”

FlexJobs has been compiling the ‘Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Work’ list since 2014. This year the Top 100 list included companies such as Pfizer, Pearson, KPMG, SAP, Amazon, Oracle, Dell Technologies, and CVS Health, among others.

To know more please visit https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/100-top-companies-with-remote-jobs-2021/

About Cactus Communications

Founded in 2002, Cactus Communications (cactusglobal.com) is a technology company accelerating scientific advancement. CACTUS solves problems for researchers, universities, publishers, academic societies, and life science organizations through innovative products and services developed under the brands Editage, Cactus Life Sciences, R, Impact Science, UNSILO, and Cactus Labs. CACTUS has offices in Princeton, London, Aarhus, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai; a global workforce of over 3,000 experts; and customers from over 190 countries. CACTUS is considered a pioneer in its workplace best practices and has been consistently ranked a great place to work over the last several years.   

This Republic Day, Witness Indian Engineering Take Center Stage With Lava Zup And Z1

 * Lava Zup- One of its kind smartphone upgrade program to go live on 26th January

* Lava Z1- World’s first designed in India smartphone to also hit the market on 26th January at a special introductory price of Rs 4,999

Lava, a leading Indian mobile handset company, announces that its ambitious Zup program will be live from 26th January. Zup- a first of its kind phone upgrade program enables Lava Z2, Z4, Z6 and MyZ smartphone users to upgrade their RAM/internal storage within the first year of the purchase, at a minimal incremental cost. In order to upgrade their phones, the users have to simply go to Lava’s website and pre-book an appointment at their nearest service centre. On the day of the appointment, the customers can get their phones upgraded within an hour, without losing any personal data.

“With this unique program, the customers will be able to choose higher specifications by paying only an incremental charge for upgraded components. Zup will not just save customer’s money but will also ensure environmental safety and protection from e-waste. Our vast network of 800+ service centre locations along with 100 mobile service centres will ensure that customers can avail the facility within their vicinity”, said Mr. Sunil Raina, President and Business Head, Lava International.

Often consumers feel the need to upgrade the specifications of the phone as and when the usage changes, post purchase. The only option for the mobile phone customers so far was to go and buy a new phone, but with Zup, Lava is changing this trend.

World’s first designed in India smartphone, Lava Z1 will also go on sale on 26th January. Starting tomorrow, the phone can be purchased from Lava e-store and will soon be available on e-commerce websites. It is pertinent to note that Lava Z1, is designed indigenously by Indian engineers as well as manufactured in India. Priced at just Rs 4999, Lava Z1 comes with a Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection on its 5” display which gives an advantage of immersive pictures along with a sturdy and durable screen. The phone is military grade certified and has a tough and resilient build. It also comes with a 5 magnet speaker that renders loud & clear audio.

“Over the years, we have invested heavily to strengthen our research, design and manufacturing capabilities. Becoming the first company to design a smartphone in India is a result of our years of hard work and the immense talent of our engineers. We are proud to give India its first indigenous smartphone which has been specially designed to make it affordable for the large population of Feature phone users to upgrade into the digital world”, added, Mr Raina.

Lava Z1 is powered by a highly efficient MediaTek Helio A20 chipset. The 12nm chip with dual camera capability and worldwide 4G LTE Cat-6 is enabled by fast quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU operating up to 1.8GHz with an IMG PowerVR GE-class GPU, plus high-speed LPDDR4 memory. Other features include HD+ (1600 x 720) resolution display, MediaTek CorePilot technology, MediaTek NeuroPilot, edge AI capabilities, high performance, incredible camera features, greater power efficiency, Dual 4G SIM Support and Rich Smart Home Connectivity. With ultra-low power sensor hub, the chipset enables sustained high-performance and significant power savings with more battery life.

Kuldeep Malik, Director Corporate Sales, MediaTek India said, “The Lava Z1 is an excellent phone in the budget segment. The device comes power-packed with many premium features that let you enjoy seamless and incredible camera, video, gaming experiences and much more. The chipset enhances user experience with its impressive combination of hardware and software capabilities from vivid visuals, rapid sensing touchscreens, premium picture quality, enhanced power efficiency and internet connectivity, powering Lava’s vision of “Design in India”.

Besides Lava Z1, Lava BeFIT, company’s first smart band, will also be available for purchase, starting tomorrow. Targeted towards wellness and fitness enthusiasts, the smart band packs in features like heart rate, body temperature & SpO2 monitor, GPS based activity tracker, auto sleep tracker to name a few. Priced at Rs 2699, the smart band will be initially available only on Lava e-store and will soon be available on e-commerce platforms.

Book your Zup appointment here- https://www.lavamobiles.com/Zup

Click here to buy Lava Z1- https://www.lavamobiles.com/smartphone/z1

Click here to buy Lava BeFIT- https://www.lavamobiles.com/accessories/befit

*All the above links to get active on 26th Jan

The FLAME University Purpose Summit 2021 Offers Students’ Advice On Unleashing Their Hidden Potential

With unprecedented events shaping the year 2020, business and life has had to shift to a virtual mode. Many thought leaders and strategic players have swiftly adapted to the new normal. A resilient nature is key to surviving in these testing times. The driving force that shaped the actions of these (luminaries) is the “Purpose”.

With the objective to offer the young generation a means to rise as leaders, FLAME University recently hosted the FLAME University Purpose Summit 2021 on January 23-24, 2021 with top leaders from various walks of life, where they offered valuable perspectives on agility, adaptability and change. Speakers focused on how having a definite ‘Purpose’ in life helped them shape their future and touch millions of lives.

Welcoming the speakers and guests, Dr. Dishan Kamdar, Vice-Chancellor, FLAME University said, “Over the past two days, our speakers, from all walks of life have shared their journeys and their views on what purpose means to them. While most of us are still looking for our true purpose, it is imperative that each of us determine our purpose, given the uncertainties we faced in 2020 and continue to face today.  Each one of us must recalibrate our life’s priorities, set goals for ourselves to find success in the future.”

Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder and Executive Chairman at Info Edge said, “Making and selling are two of the most important skills. Always have a plan B. Keep an eye on consumer insights and innovation, and success will eventually come. If it takes one extra year to reach your goals, one must upgrade your skills, engage in courses, and get some experience.”

Speaking about the driving force, motivation and inspiration in life, Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director of Quatrro stated, “The power of believing in yourself is critical. Do not be afraid to find your passion and dream big. Opportunities are huge. All it takes is the mindset and attitude to excel. There is always a goal; only the goal post might change and every step is a step towards that goal. There could be mistakes and falls, but the real art lies in getting up and walking again.”

Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman of Sampark opined, “There comes a time in life when you have enough money, enough recognition, you have done the best you can, and you understand that it’s not enough. There is something far deeper that you can achieve satisfactorily by being of value to others and that is when you discover your true purpose. So your true happiness, true joy of being who you are, would first come from recognizing and capitalizing on the potential you have, that’s a necessary condition, but after that dedicating your life to be of value to others, once you do that the purpose of existence comes to you.”

During her address, Apurva Purohit, President of the Jagran Group said, “How do you find a purpose which is not unfocused, but also not very limited. That’s my first message for all of you to think about. The second thing on thinking about purpose is - whenever we think of purpose, we think of it as a goal, as an outcome, but I think purpose is equally about the effort. So it’s the effort which results in an outcome, an input results in an output. I think it’s extremely important to have purpose which is input-driven too.”

Co-founder and Chairman of ENAM Group, Vallabh Bhanshali, says "Purpose is a direction, it is not like a question paper in an exam which has a standard answer; there is no standard purpose. It will not come couched in 12 words. You will get a sense of direction, and life is ever changing. So shape and form the challenge, before it entices you, and then inspires you, that will keep changing in a certain manner.”

The Purpose Summit also saw panel discussions on alternate careers, social transformation, the significance of online education and future of education, with noted luminaries such as Andrew Shennan - Provost and Dean of Wellesley College, Catherine Epstein - Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Amherst College, Dr. Dipak Chand Jain - European President & Professor of Marketing at CEIBS, Faye D'Souza - Indian journalist and television news anchor, Naina Lal Kidwai - Former Country Head & Group General Manager of HSBC India, Mayank Kumar – Co-Founder & Managing Director of UpGrad, Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan – Vice Chairman of University Grants Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia – Former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, etc. who discussed various facets of purpose and how it helped shape their life and the world at large.

About FLAME University 

FLAME University is the pioneer of liberal education in India, delivering the country's premier interdisciplinary education experience. It is driven to being one of India's most respected and reputed centers of learning - the premier destination of choice for higher education in the nation for learners and teachers, to push the design and nature of studies and to create a societal up-gradation phenomenon, particularly in the fields of liberal education and leadership.

FLAME has been set up with an idealistic vision and a social commitment to contribute to society nobly. FLAME grooms students who have a strong desire to learn and grow continually, welcome new ideas, value diversity with a desire to succeed and give their best towards excellence in all spheres of life. Its curriculum includes perspective building, skills, and competencies for communication, problem-solving skills, creativity, innovation, teamwork, and ethics that also meet the needs of the country's diverse sectors and beyond.

With more than 100 quality full-time faculty members, the university offers an unparalleled educational experience. The student-teacher ratio is 10:1, unmatched at the higher education level in India. Spread on 60 acres of green expanse with aesthetically designed infrastructure, and the campus currently consists of four schools: FLAME School of Liberal Education, FLAME School of Business, FLAME School of Communication, and FLAME School of Fine & Performing Arts.

FLAME University has been established as a state private university vide the FLAME University Act 2014 (Maharashtra Act No. II of 2015) of the Government of Maharashtra. It is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2(f), and degrees awarded by the University are recognized under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Breaks Ground For Building New Community Health Centre in Bidadi For Local Communities

* TKM to develop and construct a modern community health centre with an investment of over INR 120 million to cater to more than 120,000 people under CSR initiatives.

* Ground-breaking ceremony held in the respected presence of Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister and  Hon’ble MLA, Magadi constituency

In line with its commitment to support the growing healthcare needs of the local communities, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Community Health Centre (CHC) at Bidadi, near Bangalore. Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka, and Mr. A Manjunath, Hon’ble MLA of Magadi constituency graced the occasion along with senior Government officials and TKM senior official Mr. K V Rajendra Hegde, General Manager, EA(State), CSR, BIA, and PR.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project was conceived following the appeal to corporates by the Ramanagara District Health Office for building healthcare infrastructure to cater to the increasing local demand for quality healthcare. CHCs are facilities run by the Government of Karnataka to provide affordable and comprehensive primary and preventive medical, dental and mental healthcare. TKM is investing INR 120 million for constructing a new two-storied building within the existing CHC premises in Bidadi on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Construction of the new CHC is likely to be completed in the next 24 to 30 months. The new CHC facility, when ready, will benefit more than 120,000 people from the local communities besides highway accident victims. 

Apart from constructing the new CHC facility, TKM will invest in building outpatient rooms for paediatrics, OBG, anaesthetics and dental specialities. The CSR project involves creating injection, optometrist, X-ray, recovery and immunizations rooms, wards, different laboratories, pharmacy, staff rooms, meeting hall and OPD registration counters etc. TKM will provide furniture, fixtures, and electrical systems as well for the proposed CHC. While TKM will develop and construct the new facility, it will be maintained by the Health Department, Government of Karnataka following a handover from TKM under a public-private collaboration effort.

Commending TKM on relentless efforts towards the betterment of the society, Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, said, “Healthcare facilities are of utmost significance as individuals belonging to all age groups and backgrounds need these facilities. The Government of Karnataka has placed top priority on providing citizens access to good health care infrastructure. We are glad that responsible corporates like Toyota have been consistently supporting the creation of quality healthcare infrastructure to serve the community in rural Karnataka. Efforts like these will help in bridging the gap in the healthcare system thus preventing chronic illnesses and promote a healthy lifestyle.”

Sharing his thoughts on the public-private partnership, Dr. K Sudhakar, Hon’ble Minister of Health and Family Welfare, said, “On this occasion, I would like to reiterate the Government of Karnataka’s commitment to provide availability of good quality health care to all our citizens. The primary contribution of Community Healthcare Centre is providing easy access to a vast range of medical services such as affordable medical and dental centres, medicines, medicare in rural Karnataka. A healthy lifestyle leads to a healthy community, ecosystem and environment. With this initiative, I would like to applaud TKM’s effort for extending its support to contribute to the local community of Ramanagara”.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. A Manjunath, Hon’ble MLA of Magadi constituency, said, “We aim to meet the growing needs of medical services across all the strata of the society and hope that the new CHC will improve the overall health outcomes of the community leading to better quality of life. Further, we are glad that corporates like TKM have been consistently initiating and completed projects in vital spheres such as health, education, skilling, environment, and road safety. These measures are much needed in the rural areas of Karnataka with immense benefit to the community.”

Talking about the project, Mr. Vikram Gulati, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Governance said, “The initiative is a great example of Government, local authorities and a corporate coming together in understanding and catering to the critical needs of the local communities. It also underlines TKM’s strong emphasis on contributing to the creation of self-reliant and sustainable communities. We believe health and hygiene are two areas that are essential to achieving this goal. Hence, we have directed our energies in these two focus areas. It gives us immense pride to note that more than 800,000 people have benefitted from TKM’s CSR-led health and hygiene initiatives since 2001.”

“The new CHC project comes at a time when there is increased focus on strengthening the public healthcare infrastructure to deal with the current and future pandemic situations. Furthermore, given its location on the highway, it will also function as an accident and trauma care centre catering to the injured within the golden hour.”

From 2001, CSR has been an integral part of TKM’s philosophy. The voluntary initiatives taken up by TKM and our employees focus primarily on scalability and sustainability. The activities revolve around five main themes of Education, Environment, Hygiene, Health, Road Safety and Skill Development.

In the areas of Hygiene and Health, TKM has taken series of initiatives to enhance the   sanitation facilities in government schools and improving the awareness among schoolchildren. TKM has pledged its support to the ‘Swachh Bharat campaign.’ Under this initiative, TKM has constructed 795 school sanitation units in Ramanagara district in Karnataka [includes 124 units are in Varanasi and 94 units in Vaishali in Bihar].  Around 31,604 girl children benefitted from this program. Recognizing the need for a new approach, TKM also initiated the ABCD (A Behavioural Change Demonstration) Project with a focus on bringing in a behavioral change. The project implemented in 1004 schools aims at achieving 100 per cent school sanitation by increasing awareness. Under this program, more than 13518 individual household sanitation units were constructed.

Further, under its Shaale Arogya project initiated in the FY 2019, TKM in collaboration with Education and Health department of Karnataka carries out screening of schoolchildren for malnutrition, anemia, and eye diseases. A total of 14,248 school children have been covered from 109 schools in Ramanagara district. We intent to cover additional 5,000 students by March 2021 under this initiative. Moreover, TKM has so far constructed eleven schools while two more schools are ready for inauguration benefitting 2362 school children.

To improve healthcare infrastructure, in 2018, TKM constructed Primary Healthcare Centre at Byramangala in rural Karnataka with the state-of-the-art medical equipment and healthcare services benefitting over 20,000 patients. TKM has also began installing RO water purification units in and around Bidadi since 2012. So far, 41 RO units are installed benefiting 2.6 lakh villagers and covering 258 villages.

Motherhood Hospital Secures Its Frontline Staff With COVID Vaccinations

 

In line with Government of India’s ongoing Vaccination Drive to safeguard frontline healthcare workers, Motherhood Hospital coordinated with the BBMC and successfully completed the vaccination drive today. India has rolled out one of the largest vaccination drives aimed at first securing our frontline workers. The Phase 1 of this drive has been successful across the country.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) gave its approval to Oxford/AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India earlier in January this year. The vaccination drive commenced at 9 am and the hospital ensured that all Doctors, Nurses, Medical and Paramedical staff at Motherhood were duly vaccinated. This was a free vaccination drive conducted under the aegis of the Government of India and the BBMC here in Bangalore. This vaccination will be required to be taken in two doses keeping a gap of two weeks between each dose. The recipients need to continue practicing social distancing and wearing masks even after the first shot.

Mr Vijayarathna Venkatraman, CEO, Motherhood Hospitals, said, “This drive has signaled a great start to the year for all of us at AHH. Our frontline healthcare professionals went above and beyond their duty to secure and save lives. This step is our bit to safeguard them first and thank them for their untiring efforts. Today, all doctors, nurses, medic and paramedic staff at Motherhood are vaccinated and safe from COVID19. We heartily support the Govt of India’s vaccination drive and are sure that subsequent phases will be fruitful and successful.”

About Motherhood Hospitals:

Motherhood Women & Children’s Hospital network is India’s leading single-specialty chain with 12 hospitals across 8 cities. The network has more than 1000 specialist doctors associated with it who provide clinical services in Gynecology, Obstetrics, IVF, Neonatology, and Pediatrics. More than 25000 healthy babies have been born in the Motherhood network and 5000 babies have graduated hail & hearty from the 150 specialized Neonatal Intensive Care beds (NICU) of the network. Each hospital has a state of art Operating rooms to provide Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Gynecology surgeries. All the hospitals of the network follow NABH quality and safety accreditation standards. In addition, every hospital is supported by a full spectrum of Radiology services for women & children. More than 10000 women and children visit our OPD services each month. Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stands as India’s best and known as a referral centre for handling most complex preterm births. 24x7 Emergency services are provided at each hospital. Motherhood is the proud recipient of “FICCI Healthcare Excellence Award for Best Patient Care 2019”.