Manipal Hospitals Expands Its Vaccine Portfolio With Sputnik V Pilot

* The hospital chain is all set to roll out Sputnik V vaccine pilot along with Covishield and Covaxin

Manipal Hospitals, India’s second largest multi-speciality hospital chain has been at the forefront of the vaccine drive in the country and aims to reach as many people as possible. Today, the hospital chain collaborates with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (”Dr. Reddy’s”) to add the Sputnik V vaccine pilot in its existing vaccine portfolio that comprises of Covishield and Covaxin. The roll out of the Sputnik V vaccine by Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru is part of the limited pilot soft launch initiated by Dr. Reddy’s in Hyderabad last month.

Speaking about the new development, Mr Karthik Rajagopal, COO, Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd, “We are delighted to state that Manipal Hospitals is well prepared to roll out the Sputnik V vaccine pilot. Manipal Hospitals has worked closely with Dr. Reddy’s to create the state-of-the-art infrastructure to maintain Sputnik V vaccine. The hospital chain has successfully conducted vaccination drives with Covishield and Covaxin across the country till date and will continue the efforts along with the new addition of Sputnik V. We are expecting the vaccine to be available for the public soon in the latter half of the month.” 

Addressing the need of the hour especially with the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine directly transported from Russia, Manipal Hospitals has invested in creating a robust cold chain storage infrastructure as the vaccine needs to be stored in minus 18⁰ centigrade. Manipal Hospitals and Dr. Reddy’s took extensive efforts to ensure stringent cold chain maintenance as per the required guidelines for the vaccine. The cold chain storage even has a real-time logger which records the temperature every second.

M.V. Ramana, CEO – Branded Markets (India & Emerging Markets), Dr. Reddy’s, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru as we scale up our soft pilot launch of the Sputnik V vaccine in India and extend it to more cities ahead of the commercial launch later in June. In the upcoming months we hope to inoculate as many Indians as possible.”

Salarpuria Sattva Group Announces Corporate Vaccination Drive For Its Employees In Indian Market

The Salarpuria Sattva Group, India’s leading Property Development, Management and Consulting organization, has always been at the frontline, helping those in need, during the pandemic. During the second wave as well, the group has gone all out  to  safeguard the health of its employees,  as well providing timely help to its customers and the general public at large.

In order to combat the second wave, the Group conducted a Corporate COVID Vaccination Camp, at its corporate office in Bengaluru, for all employees,  free of cost.

In addition, the company has also in a timely manner, facilitated oxygen concentrators, hospital admissions, doctors on call, as well as its own quarantine facility, to help employees and their family members during the second wave.

Extending its outreach beyond employees, Salarpuria Sattva also rolled out several medical and non-medical initiatives for its customers, who reside in the Group’s many properties, across Bangalore and other cities. From facilitating emergency services like ambulance on call by collaborating with an Emergency healthcare provider, to providing oxygen concentrators in case of emergencies to customers of its residential projects, on a first come first serve basis.

Commenting on these initiatives, Mr. Bijay Agarwal, MD, Salarpuria Sattva said, “The safety of our employees is our topmost priority. In response to the evolving pandemic situation, we realigned our efforts for the health and well-being of our employees. Vaccination is one such step towards helping our employees get the best support, at every stage.”

In addition, the Sattva Group’s education wing Greenwood High international School in association with Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Bengaluru, launched a Free Oxygen on Wheels initiative with Five sophisticated buses to provide free oxygen to people waiting to get a bed outside city hospitals.  Each bus has been redesigned to accommodate 12 patients at any given time. This was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister for Revenue, Government of Karnataka, Mr R Ashoka. 

Earlier, during the first wave, the Group had also announced a contribution of Rs 1 crore to the PM-CARES Fund and 1.35 crore for the Karnataka and Telangana CM’s Relief funds. The group had also provided meals to about 1,500 migrant workers daily, to support the fight against these unprecedented times.

About Salarpuria Sattva Group

With 3 decades of expertise, the Salarpuria Sattva Group has grown into one of the most trusted builders in the country today. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, it is also a well-known name in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Coimbatore and Goa. The Group will soon be expanding its presence in Mumbai. With 56 million sq.ft spaces completed, 34 million sq.ft under construction and 32 million sq.ft in the planning stage, the Group is one of the premium builders in India today. The Group’s cutting-edge upcoming projects in Hyderabad include: Knowledge City, Knowledge Capital, Knowledge Park and Image Towers (Innovation in Animation, Multimedia, Gaming, and Entertainment), a PPP based model with the Telangana State Government. By further expanding into various verticals such as co-working, co-living, education, hotels, facilities management and warehousing, the Group today stands tall as a frontrunner, shaping India’s growth story. The Group’s unwavering adherence to quality has given it the “trusted” tag among builders in the country, renowned for its “A Stable” CRISIL rating.

'We Aim To Preserve Or Transplant Trees In Our Projects': Kishan Govindaraju

By Manu Sharma

Environment conservation is a continuous process and must be carried out by every citizen. For developers the responsibility is doubled since development poses challenges. 

'Globally, we are in the midst of an environmental crisis. With the ill effects of global warming affecting all parts of our lives, I believe we as developers should come up with innovative ideas to make our projects as environmentally friendly as we can,' advocates Kishan Govindaraju, Director, Vaishnavi Group, a leading builder based in Bengaluru. 

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Manu Sharma of Silicon Village caught up with Kishan, who talks about how trees can be preserved & transplanted in developments, what type of technology can be used for doing that and how water conservation is crucial. Excerpts:

Manu Sharma: As a developer, how much importance do you attach to trees ?

Kishan Govindaraju: Trees are a great asset to everyone. Not only do they add value to the landscaping but they also have great health benefits such as purifying the air and also providing shade where necessary. We handle trees in our projects with care and aim to conserve or transplant many of the trees in our projects.

MS: You have reportedly saved a number of trees while developing properties. How did you manage that and what are the number of trees you claimed to have saved ?

KG: In one of our projects, Vaishnavi Rhapsody, we have used LIDAR technology which can exactly pinpoint the spread of the trees and build the structure around it and not damage the trees. We made sure most of the trees on this site were retained.

MS: Have you undertaken transplantation of trees ?

KG: Yes we have undertaken the transplantation of trees. In our project Vaishnavi Gardenia, we undertook the transplantation of 80 trees. We had moved trees which were clashing with the roads or building structure and moved them to the landscaping area of the project.

MS: What do environmental laws mean to you ?

KG: We believe environmental laws are of paramount importance in today’s day and age.  All our projects are compliant with the relevant environmental governing acts.

MS: How do you ensure that you projects are environment friendly ?

KG:  I believe that there have been major advancements in construction technology which helps to keep our carbon footprint low, and not damage the environment in and around the project.  We mostly use precast construction technology for our project which reduces the need for water at site by almost 35%. It is very precise in terms of the material required during the production process and hence the material wastage is greatly reduced. The sites are very clean and noise and air pollution also drastically reduces.

MS: How according to you can developers work hand in hand with nature and carry on developmental work while parallel preserving the environment ?

KG:  I strongly advocate for the use of technology at the start of the development so the preservation can begin at an early stage. Also water conservation methods such as proper drainage systems, creating rainwater harvesting systems, reusing the water within the project for landscape with efficient STPs (Sewage Treatment Plant), having percolation pits throughout the project will help make the development more environmentally friendly. 

Most of our projects are either IGBC Platinum or Gold certified and we have to keep that going for all future projects. I strongly believe that we should take environmental concerns very seriously and do whatever we can be it as a company or an individual to preserve the world we live in.

Discovery India, UN India And WWF India Partner To Launch A Thought-Provoking Campaign #StopTheMelt On World Environment Day

By Manu Sharma

The multi-channel campaign aims to drive awareness on how every individual holds equal responsibility to be a change agent by taking small yet important steps for a greener and a healthier earth Eminent celebrities like Malaika Arora, Suresh Raina, Rana Daggubati, Pratik Gandhi, Dia Mirza, Sania Mirza, Neeraj Pandey, Shital Bhatia and many others come in support of Discovery India’s #StopTheMelt campaign on World Environment Day Bengaluru, June 05, 2021: Discovery, India’s leading real-life entertainment channel in partnership with UN India and WWF India today announced the launch of a path-breaking campaign, #StopTheMelt. With Ecosystem Restoration being this year’s UN World Environment Day theme, Discovery India aims to throw light on the ailing state of the planet. A problem so big can only be highlighted with a drastic action and hence, this World Environment Day, Discovery India for the first time changes its logo to deepen understanding of the impact of global warming, and to encourage people to take action today for a better tomorrow.

A special soul stirring film is released in partnership with UN India and WWF India to raise awareness and rekindle hope within every individual with simple yet impactful call to action like tree plantation, avoiding plastics usage et al. To watch the campaign film #StopTheMelt, click here: https://youtu.be/ip1af5XRCR0

The campaign is backed by captivating creatives across Discovery Network social media platforms which symbolises the harsh effects of Global Warming and leaves an alarming question for all the human beings. Leading influencer names like Malaika Arora, Suresh Raina, Rana Daggubati, Dia Mirza, Pratik Gandhi, Neeraj Pandey (Filmmaker), Shital Bhatia (Film producer), Sania Mirza and environmentalist Ivan Carter, Nigel Marven among many others have lent their support to champion the cause of self-reflection to re-analyse habits and save the environment.

Speaking about the campaign, Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia- Discovery Inc says, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to driving awareness about the need for reduction of human impact on the environment. We are proud to extend our partnership with UN India and WWF India, two most powerful and recognized forces working relentlessly towards environment conservation. As leaders in real-life entertainment, it is also our responsibility to continue drawing attention towards important issues beyond this day alone and work towards championing more action for a better tomorrow.” 

“2020 was a year of reckoning – a global pandemic that’s wreaked havoc in every part of the world, and a climate crisis that continues to deepen. This year, as we enter the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, we must vigorously renew our commitment to tackle climate change head-on through collective action – plant more trees, change our diet, say no to plastic and pledge to re-use, reduce and recycle. That is the call to action of our new campaign #StopTheMelt, in partnership with Discovery Network and WWF. Each one of us – together with our government, civil societies and communities – can do our bit to restore our planet,” says Renata Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator in India. 

Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF India said: “By acting together now, we can solve the dual threats of climate change and nature loss. This year, on World Environment Day, the focus is to invest our efforts to conserve, protect and restore our ecosystems, which is the solution to a sustainable future. WWF India has always taken pride to partner with Discovery India for campaigns driving the message to conserve nature and to secure a better future by putting both the health of people and our planet first.”

To drive a deeper engagement with audiences, Discovery Channel will air a 5 hour-long gripping slate of content specially curated for World Environment Day, including Wild Karnataka, The Story of Plastic, Jeremy Wade – Mighty Ganga, Great Global Clean-up, and India 2050 on 5th June from 12 Noon to 5 PM.

About Discovery India:

Discovery Communications 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.  The company recently launched India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app Discovery Plus. Available on Android, iOS and on the desktop / mobile web and Fire TV, the app offers more than 40,000 hours of content, across 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in the language of your choice. 

About UN India

The United Nations system in India includes 26 organisations that have the privilege to serve in India. The Resident Coordinator, the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General to the Government leads the UN Country Team to advocate the mandate of the United Nations, while drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family. 

About WWF India

WWF India is committed to creating and demonstrating practical solutions that help conserve India’s ecosystems and rich biodiversity. Completing 50 years of conservation journey in the country, WWF India works towards finding science-based and sustainable solutions to address challenges at the interface of development and conservation. WWF India is part of the WWF network, with offices in over 100 countries across the world. WWF India works in over 20 states, across thematic areas including the conservation of key wildlife species and their habitats, management of rivers, wetlands and their ecosystems, climate change adaptation, driving sustainable solutions for business and agriculture, empowering local communities as stewards of conservation, combatting illegal wildlife trade and inspiring students and citizens to take positive action for the environment through outreach and awareness campaigns.

Aegon Life Elevates Manish Falor As The New Chief Financial Officer

Aegon Life, a pioneer in digital life insurance, has announced the appointment of Manish Falor as its Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Manish Falor will lead the company’s finance function with the aim to strengthen the business performance and growth of the company.

Manish joined Aegon Life in 2008. During his professional tenure of nearly two decades, he has led various functions of financial control, reporting, and business planning operations.

Satishwar Balakrishnan, MD & CEO, Aegon Life, commented on the appointment “We are delighted to have Manish take over the new role within the organization. His unique expertise in business planning and proficiency in accounts and financial management has helped us create value among our key stakeholders over the past 12 years. We are certain that Manish, in his new role, will help in Aegon Life’s growth in years to come. His clear vision, and leadership skills will position us for greater success.”

Speaking on his appointment, Manish added, “I am excited to take over the new role at Aegon Life. With the help of advanced technology, innovation, and a fresh approach towards insurance, Aegon Life has paved the way for digital life insurance in India. We have many firsts to our merit when we speak of innovation in the Indian life insurance industry, and we are gearing up to transform the way customers buy life insurance policies in India. It has been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to taking our business transformation to a new level.”

Prior to Aegon Life, he worked with Lovelock & Lewes and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC, London), engaging with multiple insurance and investment management clients. Manish is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Cost and Works Accountant (CWA) by qualification. He has also completed a management certification program on Digital Disruption in Insurance from INSEAD, France.

About Aegon Life:

Aegon Life, India’s leading digital life insurance company, was the first life insurance company to launch Online Term Insurance Plans in India. By focusing on innovative digital-first solutions, its vision is to enable customers to lead tension free lives and be the most recommended new age Life Insurance Company. The company’s Direct to Customer focus establishes a direct dialogue with the customers to make for greater clarity and transparency. Being the online protection specialists, Aegon Life has a dedicated customer service team that is geared to provide superior customer experience.

Godrej Interio Reveals Its Sustainability Goals Ahead Of World Environment Day

* As part of Godrej & Boyce’s EP100 commitment, Godrej Interio will also be doubling energy productivity and aim to reduce carbon intensity by 60% by 2030 

* Plans to invest 60 million Rs. in renewable energy projects in next 3 years and targets 45% revenue share from Good & Green products y-o-y till 2031 

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Interio, India’s leading furniture brand in-home and institutional segments revealed its sustainability goals in areas of energy efficiency, water conservation, carbon neutrality, increasing renewable energy share. In alignment with Godrej & Boyce’s EP100 commitment, Godrej Interio has also committed to doubling its energy productivity by 2030.

As part of its sustainability goals, Godrej Interio aims to have a third of its portfolio revenues comprising good and green products and services. In FY2020-21, 22 products were added to the Good & Green products offerings thus taking the cumulative count to 120. They plan to increase number of Good & Green products from 120 to 130 in FY 21-22. While Godrej Interio has already achieved 45% revenue share from Good & Green products in F.Y. 2020-21, it aims to continue to target 45% revenue share from Good & Green for the foreseeable future.

Commenting on the sustainability goals, Mr. Anil Sain Mathur, COO, Godrej Interio, “At Godrej Interio, our sustainability strategy is aligned with Godrej & Boyce’s ‘Good & Green’ initiative which underscores our deep and abiding belief that innovation and sustainability must go hand-in-hand. Combining the two will promote our journey to ensuring employability, energy efficiency, promotion of a circular economy and greater community development. We are proud to be part of a company that commits to global causes such as EP100 initiative and that as Godrej Interio, we can help further this commitment thus helping lead the way on smarter energy usage.”

As a part of its sustainable manufacturing initiatives, Godrej Interio has adopted various technologies across all the manufacturing locations to reduce energy consumption. These technologies include use of VFDs on pumps and blowers, use of waste recovery technologies such as heat pipes, use of heat pumps, installation of energy efficient machines and energy efficient lighting, etc.  As of FY2020-21, Godrej Interio has reduced its energy consumption by 49.5% and water consumption by 43% based on its Good & Green Vision baseline of FY2010-11. It also achieved renewable energy share of 23% in FY20-21.

The company plans to invest Rs 60 million in next 3 years in renewable energy projects.

Similarly, the recycling of water at Godrej Interio’s plants is being done through Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) or Effluent treatment plants (ETP). The water recycled through ETP is made process ready for re-use in the manufacturing processes through advanced technologies such as reverse osmosis at Khalapur, Chennai and Bhagwanpur. In FY2020-21, around 40,440 Kiloliters of water was recycled and reused which is 31% of the total freshwater usage across Interio’s manufacturing plants. They plan on increasing this percentage to more substantial levels in the years to come.

About Godrej Interio:

Godrej Interio (GI) is India’s premium furniture brand in both home and institutional segments with a strong commitment to sustainability and centers of excellence in design, manufacturing, and retail.

Led by the largest in-house design team in the country in the furniture category and awarded with 37 India Design Mark Awards till date, GI aims to transform spaces with its thoughtfully designed furniture to create brighter homes and offices with products that have the highest design quotient in aesthetics, functionality and technology. With consistent pursuit of excellence and a special focus on health and ergonomics, GI’s product portfolio comprises a massive range.

Today, we design and manufacture furniture for office spaces, homes, educational institutes, healthcare facilities, laboratories and more. Along with furniture we offer Audio Visual and 360 Degree Turnkey solutions. Each of our product range revolves around comfort and aesthetics while delivering well-designed, fun and functional furniture solutions. Briefly, Godrej Interio transforms dream spaces to life!

Godrej Interio has 7 manufacturing facilities situated at Mumbai, Khalapur, Haridwar, Shirwal, and Bhagwanpur. GI’s Shirwal Plant is Green Co Platinum Certified, and Mumbai Plants are Green Co Gold Certified. GI is widely known for its comprehensive sustainability certifications for its products in furniture category.

GI commitment to the environment has resulted in manufacturing products with lesser environment footprint. Our pioneering efforts include designing less environment burdening products, usage of eco-friendly materials and setting up less polluting and consuming processes, ensuring eco-friendly packaging and transportation and finally the extended responsibility of recycling/reuse of used furniture and scrap, thus ensuring a lifecycle approach to green. GI has the widest range of green choices for our customers which not only includes products but also services such as green interiors and recycling.

Currently present in over 650 cities with 250 exclusive showrooms and 800 dealers, GI is one of the largest divisions of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., part of the Godrej Group, one of India's largest engineering and customer product groups.

The brand boasts of noteworthy awards received so far- CII Exim Bank Award for Business Excellence 2016, Superbrands 2017-18, Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand 2018 Gold (Home Furniture and Modular Kitchen), TRA’s India’s Most Consumer focused brand 2019, GreenCo Star Performer Award 2019, National Energy Leader Award at CII National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2018.

Happiest Minds Technologies Starts COVID-19 Vaccination Drive For Its Team And Family Members

Happiest Minds Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, a digital transformation and IT solutions company today announced that it has launched a vaccination drive for Happiest Minds and their immediate family members.

To start with, the vaccination drive will cover the company’s facilities based out of Bengaluru and will later be expanded to cover other locations. Happiest Minds has tied up with Fortis Hospitals for the vaccination drives in Bengaluru and has started the vaccination drive on 2nd June, 2021. 

Ram Mohan C, President & CEO, Infrastructure Management & Security Services, Happiest Minds Technologies, said, “The entire country is facing unprecedented challenges on account of this pandemic. Vaccination is an important measure that can help us tide over the ongoing crisis, also ensuring the safety and well-being of the company’s core assets i.e. our people. We are ensuring that our team and their families are vaccinated at the earliest.”

The latest initiative follows the company’s contribution to COVID 19 relief measures done last year.  Key initiatives toward COVID relief include:

•             Happiest Minds developed VSafe - Vaccination Tracking System application to track the vaccination status of all Happiest Minds and their families

•             Mithra - the Good Samaritan Program consists of a team of volunteers who are committed to counsel Happiest Minds and be available to listen to them, in safety, acceptance and confidentiality

•             Internal First Responders (IFR) Team: The IFR team member assists in guiding the Happiest Mind to the various resources that are available, such as, leave, loan, advance, hospitalization, oxygen, medication, etc.

•             Wellness Programs facilitated by the HappiZest team

•             Medical Tele-consultation for Happiest Minds and their families

•             Procuring Oxygen Concentrators for the use of Happiest Minds and family on a need basis

About Happiest Minds Technologies:

Happiest Minds’ Technologies Limited (NSE: HAPPSTMNDS), a Mindful IT Company, enables digital transformation for enterprises and technology providers by delivering seamless customer experiences, business efficiency and actionable insights. We do this by leveraging a spectrum of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud, digital process automation, internet of things, robotics/drones, security, virtual/augmented reality, and more. Positioned as ‘Born Digital. Born Agile’, our capabilities span digital solutions, infrastructure, product engineering and security. We deliver these services across industry sectors such as automotive, BFSI, consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, edutech, engineering R&D, hi-tech, manufacturing, retail, and travel/transportation/hospitality.

A Great Place to Work-Certified™ company, Happiest Minds is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with operations in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.