BPCL’s AI Enabled Chatbot URJA Enhances Digital Experience Of Customers

* Urja is the first AI-driven chatbot in the country’s Oil & Gas industry

* Integrated with company’s Website & WhatsApp Number

* Urja has already crossed over 1 Crores customer sessions with an overall rating of 4.5+/5

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company, announces the launch of ‘Urja’, an intelligent virtual assistant with AI/NLP (Natural Language Processing) capabilities and trained on more than 600 use cases. With the objective of making BPCL’s customer interface comprehensive & integrated digitally, Urja, the Chatbot is now available on the company website for any queries for both B2B & B2C. The virtual assistant is designed to deliver a seamless self-service experience and enable faster resolution of consumer queries / issues.

BPCL has initiated “Project Anubhav” with an objective of delivering to its vast retail (B2C) and commercial (B2B) customer base a consistent superior and unified experience of BPCL across multiple touchpoints. Under Project Anubhav, Urja represents an integrated communication platform that connects all BPCL communication to any channel, unifying all customer touch points with a single and cohesive voice. After a successful 6 month pilot on WhatsApp for enabling LPG bookings; Urja today speaks in 13 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese). Over 45% of the conversations with Urja are in the non-English languages ensuring inclusiveness for all types of customers of BPCL.

BPCL has domestic LPG customer base of 8.5 Crores plus customers across the country, served by more than 6000 distributors. With over 19000 petrol pumps spreads across the country, BPCL today serves approx. 30% of the fuelling requirement of the country. In addition, BPCL also services 12 lakh+ B2B customers for their fuel, lubricants and gas requirements across industries. URJA plays a vital role to answer & provide solutions for consumer’s queries & requirements with its Artificial Intelligence.

BPCLs core values include customer centricity, customer focus. Commenting on this initiative Mr. Arun Kumar Singh, Director Marketing, said “We at BPCL always work hard for welfare of our customers and towards growth of the nation innovatively and efficiently. Through our ‘Urja’ chatbot we aim at providing an entirely new experience for our consumers and creating an AI based virtual assistant for availing key services and to provide real time resolution of queries.”

Following are the services being offered through the Virtual Assistant:

·         LPG services:

o   Booking of LPG Cylinders

o   Know price of LPG cylinders & Payment for LPG Cylinders

o   Delivery status of booked LPG cylinder & refill history

o   Change the LPG Distributor

o   Update mobile number

o   Request services from BharatGas distributors like mechanic services

o   Request Double bottle connection (for single bottle connection customers)

o   Emergency & Complaints/Feedbacks

·         Fuel services

o   Locate nearest fuel station / pump and get directed to the pump

o   Get Petrol / Diesel Price

o   Get details of UFill Vouchers

o   Know about BPCL programme’s and offers including Smartdrive & Smartfleet Loyalty Programme, Fuel Kart Door Delivery etc.

o   Smartdrive Loyalty Programme : Check Petromiles and wallet balance, check transaction and recharge history

o   Request door delivery of fuel through BPCLs Fuel Kart Programme

·         Know about BPCLs products including industrial fuels, solvents, MAK Lubricants.

·         Customers can now show interest in BPCLs products and BPCLs field teams can connect with such customers. 

·         Feedback from Customers across services

·         FAQs across all businesses and services of BPCL

You can chat with her on WhatsApp: http://bit.ly/3to7i3j or on our website: http://bit.ly/2AO8K8l

New Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition Inspired By No Time To Die

* Unstoppable and exclusive: New Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition created by Land Rover SV Bespoke to celebrate Defender’s role in 25th James Bond film, No Time To Die

* Potent performance: Powerful new model is based on the recently launched 386 kW Defender V8 and is available in both 90 and 110 body designs

* Licence to drive: Design inspired by the Defenders which appear in No Time To Die and includes the Extended Black Pack with 50.80 cm (20) Satin Dark Grey wheels and Xenon Blue front brake calipers

* Bespoke touches: Unique ‘Defender 007’ rear badge, 007 puddle lamp, illuminated treadplates and exclusive touchscreen animation on the Pivi Pro infotainment

* Collector’s item: Each Defender V8 Bond Edition carries the SV Bespoke logo and an exclusive ‘One of 300’ etching

* Screen inspiration: No Time To Die is released in cinemas globally from September 30 2021

Land Rover SV Bespoke has created a new Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition to celebrate the 25th James Bond film, No Time To Die, ahead of its world premiere later this month.

Available to order as a Defender 110 or 90 and inspired by the specification of the Defenders that appear in No Time To Die, the stealthy Defender V8 Bond Edition features an Extended Black Pack with 50.80 cm (20) Satin Dark Grey wheels, signature Xenon Blue front brake calipers and a ‘Defender 007’ rear badge.

The bespoke touches extend to the practical interior, with illuminated ‘Defender 007’ treadplates and a specially developed touchscreen start-up animation for the intuitive Pivi Pro infotainment system that honours Land Rover’s long partnership with the James Bond franchise. At night, customers will also spot unique ‘007’ puddle lamp graphics.

Exclusively available to just 300 buyers around the world, the Defender V8 Bond Edition’s interior features laser etching detailing that it is ‘one of 300’ and the SV Bespoke logo. Each vehicle is commissioned by the vehicle personalisation experts at SV Bespoke in the UK.

Finbar McFall, Land Rover Brand Director, said: “The Land Rover Defender V8 Bond Edition is an exclusive take on the most powerful production Defender ever made, inspired by vehicles on screen in No Time To Die. It represents a meeting of two great British brands and is a unique celebration of Land Rover’s 38-year association with James Bond.”

Defenders are at the heart of the action in No Time To Die alongside two Range Rover Sport SVRs. A Range Rover Classic and Land Rover Series III are also in the film, which will be released in cinemas around the world from September 30 2021.

Based on the recently launched Defender V8, the Bond Edition is powered by a 5.0-litre supercharged petrol engine, which produces 386 kW, 625 Nm of torque and drives through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Defender V8 90 accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.2 s with a top speed of 240 km/h.

It delivers new levels of performance and driver engagement by combining the V8 with expertly developed suspension and transmission tuning to create the fastest and most dynamically rewarding Defender yet.

With unique suspension and transmission tuning, including bespoke spring and damper rates and a new Electronic Active Rear Differential, Defender V8 delivers more agile and engaging handling with heightened body control – all accompanied by a characteristic V8 supercharged soundtrack.

No Time To Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fifth and final film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. The film will be released in cinemas from September 30 2021 in the UK through Universal Pictures International and in the US on October 8 2021, from Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) via their United Artists Releasing banner.

Department Of Philosophy – MAHE To Launch Master’s In Sanskrit Studies

The Department of Philosophy (DoP) of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) - an Institution of Eminence is all set to launch Master’s in Sanskrit Studies from this academic year onward. The launch of Master’s in Sanskrit Studies will be set off by the inaugural address ‘The Importance of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Liberal Arts in India’ highlighting the case for Sanskrit in current educational scenario delivered by Dr Bibek Debroy, Chair of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Govt of India, New Delhi. Prof Debroy is a Sanskrit scholar and an Economist. He has translated major literary classics from Sanskrit to English that run over 8000 pages, stated the release issued by the Department.

The address will be a part of the orientation day for its master’s students in European Studies, Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit Studies organised jointly by the Jean Monnet Centre for Excellence – Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES) and the Department of Philosophy (DoP) on Friday, 3 September 2021 at 3 pm with a special inaugural address via Zoom – https://bit.ly/orientation3sep2021. The event is open to all. Subsequently, the students will go through a rigorous one-week immersion program sessions (seminars and workshops) conducted by various professors from institutes like – IIT Bombay and Kharagpur, Manipal University Jaipur, Krea University and MAHE, Manipal before the actual classes begin.

As a constituent of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, the Department of Philosophy conducts teaching and research activities in the areas of Humanities and Social Sciences through academic programs, projects, publications, and events. In consonance with the National Education Policy (NEP), the Department aims at transcending the disciplinary boundaries and offers two multidisciplinary programs – MA Indian Philosophy and MA Sanskrit Studies and other courses in humanities. With a team of promising scholars who are the beneficiaries of prestigious Erasmus Plus and Raman Charpak research fellowships at European universities, the Department is collaborating with the University of Toronto, Canada on a project on Indian dialectics and argumentation funded by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI), New Delhi. It has also developed the first searchable Digital Concordance – MAHE Mahabharata with three critical editions (http://mahabharata.manipal.edu/). The Department has brought out several scholarly translations and publications and is conducting interdisciplinary research in the areas of philosophy, literature, digital humanities and computational linguistics, the release noted.

The MA Indian Philosophy program involves critical and interdisciplinary engagements with Indian discourses and introduces philosophising as a skill set which students can incorporate in their approach to other academic fields, as an acquired life skill, and as a professional competence necessary for diverse career pursuits. The program accommodates students from diverse academic backgrounds and offers ample exposure to variety of philosophical subjects such as ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and linguistics. 

The two-year MA Sanskrit Studies provides an opportunity to acquire proficiency in Sanskrit language and study its linguistic foundations, while also understanding Sanskrit as a broadly-deployed medium of intellectual, literary, artistic, and religious expression in India. It incorporates an attempt to trace and reconstruct the intellectual history of India and develop a familiarity with the ongoing debates and topics in the study of Sanskrit. The program aims at equipping students with the skills necessary for interpreting and analysing Sanskrit texts of various genres - epic, poetry, commentary, and exploring the intertextual links between discourses in pre-modern and modern Indian literatures. Both the programs offer a yearly exit option with a PG Diploma, concluded the note.

MaxiVision Eye Hospital Unveiled Free COVID-19 Vaccination Drive

* An initiative to extend support to the Government’s efforts in mass vaccination

Hyderabad Based MaxiVision eye hospital has launched Free COVID19 Vaccine drive today in its Somajiguda hospital. Sri.Anjani Kumar – Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad and Sri .Muralidharan FICCI Chairman have graced the occasion as chief guests. Dr.GSK Velu – Chairman, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals, Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy Garu – Co-Chairman, Founder & Mentor, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals have attended the program as guests of honour

This drive has been taken up by MaxiVision as part of its CSR initiative in the light of the pandemic, with a view to accelerate vaccinations for the needy. Vaccination Drive starting from today will continue until 5th of September, 2021. This initiative is engineered in partnership with FICCI and Neuberg Diagnostics, the drive will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the mentioned dates and will be administering Covaxin to the attendees.

Speaking on the occasion Dr.GSK Velu – Chairman, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals said, “MaxiVision, though it is a single-specialty hospital, has always had a heart for charity. When the pandemic swept the city, our doctors and paramedics braved themselves and treated patients who were in need of emergency services. This time we are planning to dispense 50% of our vaccine stocks free of cost to the poor and needy. Though Telangana Government is well ahead in mass vaccination drives, this small attempt is to supplement the Government’s efforts in this part of the city. We have created a separate block with all paramedical support in our hospital at Somajiguda. 1000 people can have free vaccines from 2nd till 5th. We will extend the numbers to 2000 if there is continuing demand.”

Elaborating more on the same Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy Garu – Co-Chairman, Founder & Mentor, MaxiVision Eye Hospitals,said  MaxiVision Eye Hospital has always been at the forefront of extending help to those in dire need, be it reaching out to Kerala with essential commodities during the floods or providing emergency medical services in the pandemic.This free vaccination drive is yet another attempt by MaxiVision in doing its bit in helping society in these uncertain times.

Despite many rounds of mass vaccination drives conducted by the Telangana government, many sections of the city remain unvaccinated. The hospital plans on distributing half of its vaccine supply in this free vaccination drive and is prepared to extend the drive if the demand continues.

Appointments for the vaccination drive can be made on calling: 9390035926.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Sri Anjani Kumar IPS addressing the media during the free COVID19 vaccine drive launch in MaxiVision Eye Hospital Today. Dr.Kasu Prasad Reddy - CO-Chairman MaxiVision Eye Hospital, Sri. A.Murali Krishna Reddy - CO-Chairman FICCI is also seen in the picture.

69% Of people In Bengaluru Ignore Early Signs Of poor nerve heath: P&G Nerve Health Survey [1] ­

* The national survey also revealed that while over 90% of respondents believe that healthy nerves are important, only 38% know that nerves are different from blood vessels.

September commemorates the National Nutrition Month, a reminder for a greater focus on diet and nutrition, and the role it plays to help improve our overall health and wellbeing. While malnutrition can lead to many ailments, the deficiency of B vitamins may lead to nerve damage[2].

Results of the ‘P&G Nerve Health Survey’ conducted among 1800 respondents across 12 cities, showed that over 60% of the respondents ignore early signs of poor nerve health. However, in Bengaluru, the survey brought out that 69% of respondentsignore early signs of poor nerve health, higher than the national average. Conducted by HEAL Health and Hansa Research, and supported by Procter & Gamble Health Limited, the national survey also highlights that while over 90% of the respondents believe that healthy nerves are important, only 38% know that nerves are different from blood vessels.

“Usually, people don’t take a balanced diet and they miss out on lots of other essential vitamins and ingredients, which are essential for holistic health. We often see that people suffer from nerve health but are unaware of the reasons behind it. They don’t take care of the intake of Vitamin B12 in their dietary regimen, and their problem remains. Therefore, it is essential to know the impact of Vitamin B12 on our health. And equally important to ensure to take the required amount of Vitamin B12 in your diet,”says Dr Ganapathi Bantwal, President, Endocrine Society of India.

The P&G Nerve Health Survey was conducted towards gauging the awareness levels and perceptions about nerve health and to understand if people can identify nerve related discomforts. Results revealed limited knowledge amongst the masses about nerve health. While people had experienced symptoms related to nerve damage only 50% related it to nerve health[1].

“A large population of the country today suffers from Vitamin B deficiencies without knowing the causes and the risks associated with this condition including nerve damage.  The P&G Nerve Health Survey, in association with Heal Health & Hansa Research, is an effort to increase awareness about nerve health, empower people to recognize the early symptoms and how it can be managedwith a balanced diet and supplementation”, said Milind Thatte, Managing Director - Procter & Gamble Health Limited.

B12 deficiency is extremely common in India - amongst other deficiencies - owing to malnutrition being extremely common. The reasons for these are many and largely related to diet and lifestyle [2].

“Besides other factors, people with Vitamin-B deficiencies have a higher probability for nerve impairments. Special nutritional habits or malnutrition can lead to deficiencies in certain essential vitamins, like the neurotropic-B vitamins, which play a very important role in keeping your nerves healthy and protected. Like most vitamins, B12 can’t be made by the body. Instead, it must be gotten from food and supplements. Therein lies the problem as while some people don’t consume enough vitamin B12 to meet their needs, others can’t absorb enough, no matter how much they take in. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency is found to be relatively common, especially among older people”, says Dr Satish Khadilkar, Dean and HOD Neurology, Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences.

The national survey results also revealed that 73% of respondents relied upon vegetables and 69% of respondents relied upon fruits for vitamin B12, which are not a source[1].

Indian Marketers Embrace Change And Prioritise The Customer: Salesforce Research

* The State of Marketing report finds that 90% of Indian marketers have changed their digital engagement strategy since the pandemic. 

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today released the seventh edition of its ‘State of Marketing’ report based on a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders worldwide. The report is focused on understanding the shifts in marketing strategies, priorities, challenges and the trajectory of marketing's digital transformation future with the recent economic and social changes. 

Key findings include: 

Marketers Embrace Change with Optimism: Emerging from a time of great upheaval, marketers are focused on a future of innovation and real-time engagement. Top three priorities for marketers in India are: Engaging with customers in real time; Creating a cohesive customer journey across channels and devices and Improving marketing ROI/attribution and improving collaboration. 68% of Indian marketers expect revenue growth at their organizations over the next 12 to 18 months.

As Customers Go Digital, Marketing Steps Up: After years’ worth of changes in customer behavior occurring over the course of months, marketers are accelerating their digital transformation. In India 91% marketers say their digital engagement strategy has completely changed or somewhat changed since the before pandemic. 

Collaboration Drives the Market-from-Anywhere Era: No longer tied to offices, a distributed workforce is reevaluating how they engage not only customers, but each other. 79% of marketing organizations in India have adopted new work collaboration technology due to the pandemic. 

Marketing Is Spelled D-A-T-A : Data empowers marketers to deliver the trusted, personalized engagement customers expect, but managing it is only becoming more complex. The average number of data sources used by marketers in India is expected to reach 32 by 2022. 

Budgets allocations continue to evolve: Majority of budgets in India go to advertising across B2C (25%) and B2B (20%) businesses. Events and sponsorships are deprioritized getting the least amount of budgets  across B2C (15%) B2B (13%) businesses. 

Challenges are afoot, though, with 73% of Indian marketers agreeing that customer expectations are more difficult to meet than they were a year ago. To adapt, marketers are leaning into the digital transformations they had initiated prior to the pandemic. In fact, 90% of Indian marketers say the pandemic changed their digital engagement strategy, and 88% say it changed their marketing channel mix.

Prioritizing things like technology, content, and skilling people for this digital first era will help marketers stay ahead. In India 61% of marketers rate employee training they receive as excellent, in comparison to the global average of 44%. 51% of these professionals choose to specialise in Data analytics and Content Marketing 

Comments on the news:

Yashdeep Vaishnav, RVP, Digital Experience, Salesforce India, said, “Over the course of a little more than a year, marketers in India have navigated changes in customer behavior that normally occur over years. The insights in this year’s State of Marketing report provide a good benchmark for what’s changed, what’s consistent, and where the art and science of marketing goes from here.”

The trends revealed in the State of Marketing report were collected from a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders across 37 countries and six continents, including 300 from India. 

Study Reveals How The Pandemic Has Negatively Affected Working Women Of India

·         14% of women have given up their full-time job

·         44% report an adverse change in their income

* 50% report increased workload

A study undertaken by Economix Consulting Group (ECG), a niche consulting and analytics firm, unveiled a research report on the impact of COVID-19 on urban working women in India.

ECG conducted a Pan-India survey among urban working women of various professions ranging from Private Sector, Academic Professionals, Entrepreneurs and, Medical professionals to understand what effect the pandemic has had on their lives. The survey was conducted across all major cities in India in the target group age of 20-60 years.

The study examined the changes brought about by the pandemic in various aspects like working status, workload (professional and personal), productivity, income, job losses, place of work, and domestic support systems.

Some of the key findings of the study:

More Women Are Working Part Time Now:

▪       Between the two waves, 14% of respondents have been forced to move from full time to part time employment.

▪       60% of respondents working part-time have experienced a decrease in income, compared to 37% of full-time employees. Part-time working women appear to be affected more by the pandemic’s effects perhaps due to their temporary status.

Work Hours Have Changed Drastically For Women:

▪       In terms of working hours and days, the number of women working part-time has increased as 31% of respondents report working less than 5 hours a day.

▪       10% more respondents now work less than 4 days a week. This may be attributed to declining business activity, lack of time due to household chores.

▪       Respondents working more than 10 hours a day, or having no fixed timings, rose from 4% to 14%. There is also a 3% increase in women working all 7 days of a week.

▪       Weekly schedules have been affected as those working 5-6 days per week declined from 82% to 68%.

▪       Disruptions in routine have made typical schedules uncommon, and respondents are having a conventional workday of 7-10 hours has shrunk from 57% to 35%.

Women Now Prefer Personal Transport Or No Travel:

▪       As expected from lockdowns and social distancing, 64% of respondents have started working from home after the pandemic, compared to 14% before.

▪       A surprising 36% continue to commute outside for work, commonly using two-wheelers and cars, and eschewing public transport altogether.

▪       Of those working women who travelled on work pre-COVID19, 78% report a complete stop.

Women Are Working Harder:

▪       Of the 57% of respondents who reported a change in workload after the pandemic, a significant 73% have experienced an increase. Common reasons appear to be more significant preparation due to the adoption of digital mediums, reduced staff at work, and increased working hours.

▪       Interestingly, the survey brought out some diverse views. 35% of respondents reported an increase in productivity. Common reasons cited for the increase in productivity: Absence of commuting time and extended work hours. On the other hand, 32% of respondents report a decrease in productivity. Common reasons cited for decline in productivity: Household chores and network issues.

Women Are Earning Lesser:

▪       44% of respondents report an adverse change in income levels after the pandemic. The impact is being felt by reduction in salary or perks, no pay, or reduction in business income.

▪       The effect of a decrease in income for women since COVID19 highlights reduced household income and an increase in “unpaid” work (domestic chores).

Women Are Working More At Home As Well:

▪       Despite a significant majority employing domestic help, almost 50% of the respondents indicate an increased workload, commonly citing unavailability of domestic support and additional responsibilities towards children’s online education.

▪       Interestingly, of those women working from office before the pandemic and have since been working from home, only 17% feel that continuing to work from home is better.

Women Now Have Lesser Time for Hobbies And More Stress:

▪       While 70% of respondents pursued hobbies such as fitness, art, reading, etc., before the pandemic, almost a third report being unable to continue these pursuits.

▪       52% report worsening mental health since COVID-19, with many anecdotes of challenging experiences at home.

▪       Working women were also questioned about their well-being relative to working men as well as stay-at-home women. 60% felt they had it more challenging than stay-at-home women, and 53% felt similarly to working men.

How does the regional comparisons look like?

Work From Home (WFH)

West:

West displayed the highest indifference between WFH and office @ 40% (their preference for working only from office is also @ 40%). However, understandably, they also reported the highest decrease in working from office during the pandemic as also the highest increase in WFH @ 68% and 62% respectively.

East-South:

In contrast, Pandemic or no pandemic, “work means office” for East & South - East and South India had the highest share of respondents working from office during the pandemic @32% and 26% respectively. These are also the respondents who showed the highest preference for working from office post-pandemic, @ 44% and 49% respectively.

North:

Whereas “Home” is the happening place for those in North with the largest share of respondents WFH, both before and after the pandemic @ 27% and 73% respectively. They also showed the highest preference for continuing to WFH post-pandemic @ 32%. Interestingly, 22% of respondents from North India felt that stay-at-home women have struggled more than working women since the pandemic, compared to 60% of women across the respondent pool believing the opposite is true.

Stress and Mental Health – Linked to loss of income?

Disturbingly, all regions reported increase in stress and deterioration of mental health. The largest share of respondents suffering from a decrease in income, and a worsening of mental health are from South India, at 41% and 60% respectively.

In comparison, these figures are 35% and 49% for North, 35% and 44% for West and 25% and 30% for East.

Speaking about the study, Latha Ramanathan, Founder & CEO, Economix Consulting Group (ECG) said, “There have been multiple reports across the world of women being disproportionately affected due to the pandemic, on employment, income and mental health. Our study of urban Indian women resonates that - working hours and work load seem to have increased considerably, and some women have even cited that they are working all 7 days of the week. Furthermore, the respondents have reported a decrease in income and increase in mental health issues, possibly due to increased stress levels.”