Israel’s Watergen Brings Water-From-Air Technology Products In India Through A Joint Venture With SMV Jaipuria Group

* Reinforces commitment to make clean drinking water, accessible to all

* Aims to address safe drinking water problem in India

Watergen, an Israel-based company which has successfully developed technology that generates drinking water from the air, today announced its strategic joint venture with SMV Jaipuria Group–a multifaceted business conglomerate, to bring its global patented technology to India. Through this partnership, the entities will introduce its Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) product categories in India--that creates high quality, mineralized, safe-drinking water out of ambient air, everywhere. Additionally, to support the Government’s ‘Make in India’ vision by proliferating job opportunities, the companies shared their plans to launch a manufacturing unit in India within a year of starting operations.

The company showcased its wide range of Watergen products, consisting of: GENNY, GEN-M1, GEN-M PRO, and GEN-L. With their capacities ranging from 30 to up to 6,000 liters per day, the pricing of these products is estimated to start from INR 2.5 lakhs. These products will be ideal for schools, hospitals, parks, resorts, construction sites, temporary localities, villages, residential buildings, homes, offices and any other place where drinking water is required. Its plug and play technology can be easily installed using a standard electricity connection or any alternative energy sources. With devices deployed in more than 90+ countries around the world, Watergen eliminates the need for infrastructure, transporting water and its commuting traffic, which eventually reduces plastic waste and eradicates carbon-intensive water supply systems.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Maayan Mulla, CEO Watergen India, said, “At Watergen, we believe in innovative technology that makes our consumers' life simpler and more convenient. India is amongst our top three strategic markets and together with our partner, we are determined to provide safe mineralized drinking water available for every individual, across geographies and demographics. Through our patented GENius technology, we are fully geared to cater to the increasing industrial and consumer demand for better quality water in India.”

Mr. Chaitanya Jaipuria, Director, SMV Jaipuria Group, added, “As the population in India increasingly struggles to access clean, natural water, our partner--Watergen’s innovative technology can pose a game-changing solution. This joint venture is a step towards empowering the people of India with the access to the most essential necessity for survival i.e., water. We are confident that with Watergen, we will be able to make safe and highest quality drinking water accessible to people from the most remote rural village communities to commercial office buildings to private homes.”

Key product highlights are as follows:

* Unique and Innovative: Creates water from humidity in the air, an unlimited completely free source of water

* Premium Mineralized Drinking Water Quality: Complies with all Food Grade standards and provides added minerals

* New Water Source: Creates a completely new drinking water source from the air around us- preserving the natural water sources, adding water to the world

* Scalable Structure: Patented GENius heat exchanger, can be configured to any size and supports a wide range of water production needs

* Energy Efficient & Cost-Effective: Watergen's GENius technology allows to produce 5 liters of mineralized drinking water with 1 KWH in a wide range of climatic conditions starting from 20% humidity

* Eco-friendly/Sustainable: Products are environment friendly, reduces dependence on plastic water bottles, 5-gallon solution as well as eliminates the need for infrastructure, transporting water, commuting traffic, thus saving on logistics and storage costs.

* Global Industry Recognition and Certification: Watergen is the first AWG manufacturer to comply with American standards ASSE LEC 2004. All products comply with EPA, NSF, and the Federal Drinking Water Standards

* UN Sustainable Development (SD) Goals: Watergen has very high compliance with 13 out of 17 UNSD Goals

Meta Is Rolling Out Its Updated Privacy Policy And Terms of Service

*  We’ve rewritten and re-designed our Privacy Policy to make it easier to understand and clearer about how we use your information.

*  While the text looks different, Meta is not collecting, using or sharing your data in new ways based on this policy update.

* We’ve added more detailed explanations including about how we use and share information with third parties. And we’ve paired the policy with the Privacy Center and new controls to manage your experience, like who sees your posts and the topics you want to see ads about.

Starting today, Meta is rolling out notifications letting people know that we’ve updated our Privacy Policy, formerly known as the Data Policy. Inspired by feedback from people who use our technologies and privacy experts, we rewrote our Privacy Policy to make it easier to understand and to reflect the latest products we offer. While the text looks different in many places, Meta is not collecting, using or sharing your data in new ways based on this policy update and we still do not sell your information. We’re also updating our Terms of Service.

Our goal with this update is to be more clear about our data practices; one way we’ve done this is through additional details and examples throughout. At Meta, we’ve always set out to build personalized experiences that provide value without compromising your privacy. So, it's on us to have strong protections for the data we use and be transparent about how we use it. That includes communicating more clearly about our data practices and the choices you have.

We’re also including more ways to access controls you can use to experience our products in ways that are right for you. You can continue to manage your privacy settings at any time and we’re committed to letting you know if we make important changes to how we collect, use and share your information.

In addition, we’re updating our Terms of Service to better explain what is expected from us and those who use our platforms. These expectations include the rights and obligations described in our Community Standards, for example when we may disable or terminate accounts that violate our Terms or Community Standards or others’ intellectual property rights or other laws.

Notifications that people will start to receive today on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger will direct them to information about what to expect from the relevant Privacy Policy and Terms of Service in their region. They’ll also see a summary of what’s different. These updates go into effect on July 26, and people don’t need to act on this notification by this date to continue using our products.

The updated Meta Privacy Policy covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other Meta Products. It doesn’t cover WhatsApp, Workplace, Free Basics, Messenger Kids or the use of Quest devices without a Facebook account, which have their own privacy policies.

RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK AND EVOLVING REGULATION

As privacy and data protection regulations have improved around the world in recent years, we’ve explored ideas in people-centered privacy design and have worked to make our data practices more transparent. The updates we're announcing today are inspired by feedback from privacy experts, policymakers, and people who use our services. Our aim going forward is to update our Privacy Policy more frequently as we continue to learn what areas we can improve.

We encourage everyone to read our updated Policy which will help people understand how our practices apply, including up to date information about our newer products, like Shops and Facebook View, as we continue to innovate. We’ve added more examples about the kinds of information we collect to provide the personalized services people expect, like recommended content and suggested connections. We’ve also included more details about the types of third-parties with whom we share and receive information and explained how and why people’s information is shared across our products, among other changes. Our updated policy has more details about information we collect if you use our products but don’t have an account and when we share information with law enforcement for the purposes of safety and security. For a summary of other key changes to our Privacy Policy, you can review this page.

PRIVACY CENTER

Earlier this year, we began to roll out Privacy Center as a place where people can learn more about Meta’s approach to privacy across our apps and technologies. Privacy Center is now available to everyone who uses Facebook on desktop and mobile and connects directly to our updated Privacy Policy.

You can think of Privacy Center as a hub for your privacy questions, where you can learn about how we use data, make use of some of the various privacy controls that we offer, and brush up on key account security tips and tools. We’ll also continue adding more guides and controls to it.

UPDATING CONTROLS FOR YOUR PRIVACY

New Audience Controls: Starting today, we’re also rolling out a new setting to make it easier to manage who sees your posts on Facebook. Now, when someone selects a default audience, that audience selection will apply to new posts created in Facebook that they share to their timeline unless they select a different audience for a particular post. Previously, your default audience for posts matched whichever audience you chose most recently. So if you had just made a post that was available to the public, your subsequent posts would be as well. This new setting will help make sure you’re sharing with the right people in your community.

New Ways to Manage the Ads You See: Recently, we consolidated the Ad Topics and Interest Categories controls into a single control that can be accessed on Facebook and Instagram, covering a more extensive set of ad topics. This allows people to use a single control to set preferences across ad topics that reflect the interest targeting categories advertisers may use to reach them and the content they might see in an ad.

Nuclear Deterrence Will Safeguard Japan's Interests" Japan’s Former Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe

* WION News exclusive interview at the Quad Summit with Japan’s former Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe

India’s first and only international news channel, spoke exclusively to Japan’s former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe as part of the channel’s flagship Global Leadership Series hosted by Palki Sharma Upadhyay, Managing Editor of WION. Abe said Joe Biden's statement on defending Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, marks a shift in America’s Taiwan policy. Mr Abe said he believes Biden meant what he said and that this statement reflects a change in America's strategic ambiguity policy on Taiwan.

Abe said "This is a comment given directly by President Biden. And he talked about the US's commitment to defend Taiwan. Even though the White House came out and denied it - saying that it is the same policy. But I think essentially what President Biden had said was the truth and it was a message to China."

He further added "On the very point that the White House came right out saying our policy has not changed - the fact that they clarified that right after President Biden's comment gives us a signal that the US is starting to look at changing the policy."

Abe stated that the White House's clarification was probably meant to downplay the significant policy change. "If the US were in a position to intervene, then China may have to give up its idea of annexing Taiwan", said Abe. He added that if China cannot militarily defeat Taiwan, it will try to destabilise the island's economy and politics.

The statement comes in the background of the Quad Summit being held in Japan. The Quad or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a group made of four nations, India, Japan, the US, and Australia. It is a strategic forum that features semi-regular summits, information exchange, and military drills.

On being questioned about the possibility of Japan hosting US’ nuclear missiles, Abe responded in the affirmative. "Nuclear deterrence will safeguard Japan's interests", said Abe.

The former prime minister also spoke about his long association with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “a quick decision-maker, and a leader who gets things done.” He focused on Japan's relationship with India which is older than its relationship with the USA. He concluded the conversation reiterating that the partnership with India is that of "maximum potential."

Tata Motors Files A Record Number Of 125 Patents In FY22; Secures 56 Grants In FY22

* Continues to set the standard in the automotive industry

Reaffirming its commitment towards fostering innovation, research, and advanced engineering, Tata Motors Ltd (TML), India’s leading automobile company, today announced that it has accelerated its drive for engineering excellence and innovation by filing a record number of 125 patents in FY22, which is the highest ever in its history. The patents filed entail a diverse range of innovations & developments in traditional & new energy powertrain technologies, safety, connected vehicle technologies, body in white (BIW) & trims along with other vehicle systems. The company has also received a grant of 56 patents during the same period.

With a rich history of pioneering technology and engineering solutions, TML has been consistently making “ahead- of-the-curve” investments in new age technologies, with a focus on enabling future ready mobility. Its intrinsic capabilities in R&D, technology incubation and success in developing segment-defining vehicles in both commercial and passenger vehicles has resulted in the introduction of several innovations over the years in its vehicles. These innovations are cherished by the customers leading to improved market shares and have since become industry benchmarks.

TML remains committed to satisfy the rising mobility aspirations of our customers by delivering high quality, smart features at affordable costs.

Speaking about Tata Motors’ commitment towards innovation & new technology, Rajendra Petkar, President & CTO, Tata Motors, said, “We have established a legacy of setting new benchmarks with cutting-edge technologies and features in the areas of new energy solutions, safety, product performance, cost of ownership and digitalization. An enabling culture and ecosystem to foster innovation amongst our workforce and the drive to keep challenging the status quo in pursuit of excellence has been the key to delivery. We remain committed to use our engineering prowess in creating top class mobility solutions to serve the evolving aspirations of our customers.”

The R&D centres of Tata Motors have won several prestigious accolades and honors recently. These include:

Two CII GreenCo awards for the Tata Motors at the 8th Edition of CII National Award for Environment Best Practices (2021)   

The IP Excellence Award, 2021 accorded by Questel, in recognition of Tata Motors’ valuable contribution as an Innovation-Driven Organization

The “Special Appreciation Award” in “7th CII Industrial Intellectual Property Award Ceremony” in November 2021

Excellence award at the 46th International convention on Quality Circles -2021

Astral Partners With Iconic Star Allu Arjun To Strengthen Its Presence In The Southern Market

-          With this partnership, the company aims to expand and solidify Astral’s piping vertical in the southern markets

-          The move is set to leverage Allu Arjun’s massive following to strengthen its brand positioning in Southern India and drive sales

Astral Limited, one of the leading companies in building materials, has announced an association with Superstar Allu Arjun as their brand ambassador for the Pipes & Water Tank businesses.  This association will add value to the entire ecosystem of Astral pipes and boost Astral business in the market.

On the partnership, Mr. Kairav Engineer, Astral said, “This partnership signifies an important milestone for us as a brand since Mr. Allu Arjun is renowned for his distinctive acting & dancing styles and immense fan-following. We, at Astral, are delighted to associate with him with an aim to reinforce our brand equity and strengthen brand consideration in the southern states of India. The regional connect coupled with an immensely popular star will help us to create strong footholds, increased mind share and market share in these markets.”

Echoing the sentiment, Mr. Allu Arjun commented, “I am excited to get associated with Astral Pipes, a brand which is a household name and well-known for quality, innovations and forward-thinking.  I can resonate well with the brand's versatility and look forward to our association.”

Astral Limited is one of the fastest-growing companies in India with their piping business, leading the way in terms of volume and contribution to the company. South India marks a huge market for Astral Limited. Astral in addition to Pipes and building materials is diversified into various other portfolios including Adhesives, Water Tanks, Sanitaryware and Faucets.

The strategic decision of the company is in the direction of its vision of achieving significant revenue streams and contributing considerably to its overall piping business.

About Astral Limited.

Astral Limited started its operations in 1998 from Ahmedabad, Gujarat by venturing into Polymer Pipes Manufacturing. Right from introducing CPVC piping in India to introducing many innovative piping solutions, Astral Pipes today offers the widest range of pipes and fittings for various applications including specialized products for infrastructure development. Astral also manufactures a wide range of water tanks available in various storage capacities. 

Astral entered the Adhesives category in 2014 by acquiring Resinova Chemie Ltd. And the UK-based Seal It Services Ltd. Astral Adhesives manufactures a diversified range of adhesives, sealants, putties, and construction aids. Recently, Astral has forayed into the Faucets and Sanitaryware category as well as in Paints category and poised to introduce a product range to meet different consumer requirements.

Today, Astral is one of the fastest-growing companies in the category of building materials and has been a distinguished brand. Astral deploys best-in-globe technologies and fulfills the emerging needs of millions of houses and adds extra mileage to India’s developing real estate fraternity with the hallmark of unbeaten quality and innovative building materials solutions.

Karnataka Making Mangalore As A FinTech Hub Is Becoming Reality

* The synergy between KDEM, academic institution and industry is a step towards harbouring a Fintech ecosystem at the grassroots level

Continuing with its mission to contribute to India’s $1trillion digital economy with a robust innovation and start-up ecosystem, the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) welcomed Illumifin’s (Illumifin India LLP - Fintech Startup) new office in Mangalore. They are a fintech-based company supplementing KDEM’s objective of making the Mangalore cluster a fintech focus hub.

The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) has set up a fintech task force led by Harshil Mathur, the founder, and CEO of fintech unicorn start-up Razorpay. The task group works toward creating a roadmap for the growth of the industry, identifying the opportunities and challenges faced by the fintech ecosystem in the state, leverages the partnering institutions and government to solve them and attract more fintech companies. In this direction, Illumifin’s new office at Mangalore is KDEM’s prowess in intensifying its drive to build a robust Fintech ecosystem in the region while spotlighting skill development, employment generation, and overall development across Karnataka.

The BFSI and FinTech sector is a booming industry, and the engineering and management graduates can benefit from the immense opportunities it offers to the digitization of this sector. KDEM is very happy with the triparty agreement signed by Illumfin in this regard and thus thase initiatives are aimed to bring about a necessary change in the outlook of promoting niche departments at the grassroots level in cities beyond Bengaluru for the right social and economic impact to make its mark.

The Beyond Bengaluru program of KDEM is spearheading the mission of proliferating the growth of the digital economy in clusters beyond Bangalore by identifying potential clusters in the state. The program aims at building a community of key industry players, entrepreneurs, start-up owners, academia, accelerators, and the student community, the Beyond Bengaluru program of KDEM is steering towards getting investments and generating employment in the state. The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) has recognized the growth potential of the FinTech industry, and this MoU with FinTech Industry has enabled many such companies to get a foothold in this region.

Speaking on this important development, Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, KDEM: "Karnataka Digital Economy Mission is delighted to welcome Illumifin its Mangaluru cluster, under the Beyond Bengaluru initiative. The ecosystem of the Mangaluru cluster is dynamic and vibrant with innovation and rich entrepreneurship culture. Together with our ecosystem partners like Sahyadri, we are spearheading the objective of attracting 500+ IT companies and creating 30,000 jobs by 2026. We aim at leveraging the competitive advantage of Mangaluru being a cradle of banking & financial institutions and making it a hub of Fin-Tech-based operations. We welcome Illumifin to start its operations from Mangaluru and accelerate its development journey from #Beyond Bengaluru."

Commenting on this partnership, Chairman, Sahyadri institution, Mangalore said – “This partnership between the industry and the academia is a critical milestone for India's fintech ecosystem. As KDEM cements Karnataka’s place as a global fintech hub, it gives me immense pleasure to be a part of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission’s journey to unlock new areas of innovation and growth. With KDEM’s reach and our expertise, we are very hopeful of enabling an enriching platform to the ascending start-up environment of Karnataka. “

About the Company:

Details: Abry Partners, a leading Boston-based private equity firm and Hoplon Capital, an asset manager focusing on the digital disruption of end markets including insurance have acquired Concentrix Corporation’s stand-alone insurance third-part administration and software platform services company, Concentrix Insurance Administration Solutions.

Concurrent with the acquisition, Concentrix Insurance Administration Solutions has been rebranded as illumifin Corporation, led by newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Phil Ratcliff, a seasoned insurance industry executive with 30 years of broad-based financial services capability, including senior roles in industry, consulting, technology and outsourcing.  illumifin is poised to be an innovative partner to the insurance industry, delivering visionary technology-enabled services and software solutions, to individual and group insurers. illumifin’s deep industry expertise, proven technology, and best-in-class administration will combine to create unrivaled value.

About illumifin

illumifin is a true partner to the insurance industry, delivering tech-enabled business processing services and essential software solutions to help transform insurers for tomorrow’s digital future.

We’re focused solely on the U.S. life and annuity market. This gives us an in-depth understanding of the industry and helps us deliver the best solutions for our customers. We want to guide insurers on their transformation journeys. Our business process servicing and technology offerings provide a comprehensive roadmap to boosting profits, maximizing growth, and providing a seamless digital customer experience. We are committed to being a true partner to insurers, forming relationships that deliver tangible value to our customers, and making a meaningful impact on the insurance industry.

About Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)

With an objective to increase the share of the Digital economy in the state, the Government of Karnataka set up the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), a Section-8 organization, which acts as a knowledge bridge between the industry and the government. To meet the objectives, KDEM has been working towards the five focus areas, viz. IT Products & Services, BPM & GCC promotion; Innovations & Start-ups; ESDM; Beyond Bengaluru; and Talent Accelerator.

Thousands of Blood Cancer Patients Are In Dire Need of Matching Blood Stem Cell Donors

Blood stem cell transplant is often the only life-saving treatment option for blood cancer patients 

Only 30% patient in need of a stem cell transplant find a match in their family; the rest 70% have to find an unrelated matching donor 

Only five lakh Indians are registered as potential blood stem cell donors, which is abysmal compared to Western countries 

Blood stem cell transplant is often the only lifesaving treatment option for patients with blood cancer. Around one-year posttransplant, most patients go on to lead near normal lives. However, lack of awareness about the treatment is a big challenge in India, due to which it is a race against time for patients waiting to find a matching donor. This was stated by medical experts in Bengaluru while marking the World Blood Cancer day, in an event organized by DKMS BMST Foundation India, a non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against world blood cancer. 

Dr. Sunil Bhat, Director & Clinical Lead, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Narayana Health, Bengaluru: “If a genetically well-matched, young and healthy donor is available, the outcome of blood stem cell transplant is very good. The success rate differs with variations in patient and disease characteristics but, if done at the right time, 60-70% patients can be completely cured. In fact, the success rate has increased up to 80% with advancement in the conditioning regimen. Studies suggest that more than 70% of patients report good to excellent quality of life in 1-4 years after the transplant.” 

Over the last two decades, better diagnosis and disease awareness has led to a definite increase in incidence of blood cancer in India, especially in patients belonging to lower socio-economic strata. These patients are being diagnosed at advanced stage of the disease, leading to higher morbidity and mortality. A large number of patients from underprivileged sections and remote locations go undiagnosed and the incidences are not reported. 

Unavailability of matching blood stem cell donors is the main challenge faced by Indian patients in need of a transplant. Said Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India, only about 30% of the patients can find a sibling match and the rest 70% depend on finding a matching unrelated donor. As per the World Marrow Donor Association, there are over 39 million donors registered across the globe. Only 0.5 million of these are from India. When someone needs a blood stem cell transplant, their odds of finding a match is much higher from among people of the same ethnicity. Hence it is very important for more Indians to step forward to register as donors so that more patients can be saved.” 

Every year, over 70,000 people die due to blood cancer in India, even as over 1lakh new patients get diagnosed. Said Dr. Sunil Bhat: “Both malignant and non-malignant conditions can be treated with a blood stem cell transplant, including Lymphoma, Leukemia, Myeloma and Hodgkin’s diseases. Knowing the type and subtype of leukemia is important in estimating life expectancy. The 5-year survival rate for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) has greatly increased over time and is now about 90% overall. The 5-year survival rate of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) has also increased over time and is now in the range of 65-70%. Early detection and initiation of treatment along with proper compliance from patient side will reduce both mortality and morbidity." 

Maheer found his lifesaver from Germany 

Maheer, hailing from Ahmedabad, was just 6 years old when he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. He got a second chance at life when he found a matching donor registered with DKMS, Dr Sita Arjune, a medical doctor from Cologne, Germany.  

It has been nine years since Maheer received the transplant. “At that time, I was very young, so I did not know what was happening, or why. There was so much anxiety, and my parents were so worried.  My father told me there was an issue with my blood but that it would all be sorted.  After the transplant, everyone felt much happier,” said Maheer.  

Dr Sita, who was elated to have helped a patient in need, said, “As soon as I found out about the plight of Maheer, I knew I had to help. Suddenly, there was someone I could give hope to through my donation. Hope is something we all deserve.” Maheer is now 14 years old. He has managed to beat leukemia and now has the gift of a bright future to look forward to. He loves to listen to music, play with friends, travel and do research, especially in the field of medicine.  

He has a very important message for people: “The only reason I am here breathing, living, speaking, is my transplant. This donation gave me my life back. What could be more beautiful than that? By donating stem cells, you could give someone a new life. So, please sign up as a potential lifesaver!  

Registration takes only 5 minutes of your time. If you’re between 18 and 50 years and in general good health, take the first step to register as a blood stem cell donor by ordering your home swab kit at www.dkms-bmst.org/register.  

About DKMS BMST Foundation India 

A non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders, such as thalassemia and aplastic anemia. Our aim is to improve the situation of patients suffering from blood cancer and other blood disorders in India and throughout the world, by raising awareness about blood stem cell transplantation and registering potential blood stem cell donors. By doing this DKMS-BMST provides patients in need of a blood stem cell transplant with a second chance at life.  

DKMS-BMST is a joint venture of two reputed non-profit organizations: BMST (Bangalore Medical Services Trust) and DKMS, one of the largest international blood stem cell donor centers in the world. For more information, please visit dkms-bmst.org 

Photo Caption:  Jithesh Kanchan, Kishor Ramji Surani, Suneel Narayan, Suresh Verma, Smita Joshi, Prapul R, Dr Latha Jagannathan, Director, DKMS-BMST,  Dr. Sunil Bhat, Director & Clinical Lead, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Narayana Health, Bengaluru Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India.