Over 5000 Ophthalmologists To Take Pledge To Reduce Preventable Blindness To 50% By 2025

The 80th Annual Conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS), with nearly 24,000 member ophthalmologists, a society with a view to render service to the community through their profession, announced a landmark pledge to reduce preventable blindness in India to 50% by 2025. The cases of preventable blindness occur due to cataract, diabetic eye disease, vitamin A deficiency and trauma related blindness. India has the world’s largest population of the blind, it is estimated that the country has 12 million preventable blindness cases, who will become partially or fully blind, if not treated in time.

Dr. Lalit Verma, President (2022-23), AIOS, elaborated on the theme of the 80th Annual Conference of AIOS and said, “Preventable blindness must be addressed with a strong commitment as it impacts individuals’ quality of life directly and dramatically. It also impacts individual economic activity and consequently impacts the productive output of the entire country. Cataract in the aging can be solved with relative ease and timely eye examinations can help cure diabetic eye disease. Eye diseases due to vitamin A deficiency are also quite simple to solve. Our pledge to reduce preventable blindness to 50% by 2025 is going to be a national initiative with the active involvement of our members.”

Dr. Barun Kumar Nayak, President (2021-22), AIOS, added, “India has about one ophthalmologist for every 60,000 of our population, which puts a very heavy onus on our profession to take care of the population’s eye diseases. Ophthalmologists in India are among the best trained in the world and have been striving untiringly to put their profession to the best use of the citizens of India. We want government to encourage public-private partnerships in this endeavour to bring down preventable blindness. CSR funds of corporate must be allowed to be deployed for this very important social cause.”

Padmashree Dr. T.P. Lahane, Organizing Chairman, AIOC 2022, explained the process and averred, “The 80th Annual Conference of AIOS is a landmark occasion, undoubtedly the longest series of conferences by any medical association or society. In Maharashtra, we have successfully implemented programs for reducing preventable blindness by holding hundreds of eye camps held over the last three decades. We also create awareness on how to avoid injury to the eyes, each year we have been able to help over 7,00,000 people to come from darkness to light with the help of the government and NGOs. If we adopt the Maharashtra Model nationally, we will be able to bring down preventable blindness across the country significantly.”

Dr. Namrata Sharma, Honorary Secretary, AIOS, spoke on further expectations from the government, “Government must ban selling ‘chuna’ to children, as its mishandling can cause eye injuries even leading to blindness. Another major cause of blindness is in factories, and a compulsory inspection of workplaces is needed to see that protective eye wear is made available to every worker in situations where eye injuries are possible and to ensure safety standards are fully followed. Government led advertisement campaigns are needed urging diabetics to seek eye check-ups so that there is mass public awareness.”

Colliers Strengthens Its Capital Markets & Investment Services Capability

* Anant Bir Singh to lead Bengaluru Land and Capital Markets business 

Leading diversified professional services and investment management firm Colliers (NASDAQ and TSX: CIGI) today announced the appointment of Anant Bir Singh as Senior Director & Head for its Capital Markets & Investment Services (CMIS) team based in Bengaluru, effective immediately. 

With a demonstrated leadership and excellent track record, Singh joins Colliers from Adarsh Developers, where he served as the Vice President (Business Development) & Head (Commercial). Before this, he was part of Century Developers and JLL, where he held various roles and responsibilities for over 11 years. This is Singh’s second stint with Colliers, as he comes back to Colliers to accelerate his career with the firm.

An industry veteran with more than 18 years of real estate industry experience, Singh has worked extensively on various aspects of real estate investment management, strategy, and asset lifecycle analysis. As a well-known name in the industry, Singh is adept at managing significant investment and divestment processes for assets, lands, and funds and has led several high-value transactions to drive exceptional results for his clients.

Piyush Gupta, Managing Director, Capital Markets & Investment Services, Colliers India, added: “At Colliers, we continue to add industry leading talent to drive success of our clients and the organisation. We are delighted to get Anant on board and with his diversifeid experience across managing real estate investments, advising clients on capital, growth and assets, he would drive the Bengaluru land and Capital Markets business and endeavour to take it to higher levels.”

Singh will be responsible for growing Colliers’ CMIS capabilities and identifying investment opportunities in the region. In this capacity, he will leverage his industry experience to expand relationships with clients further while collaborating with experts across the country to acquire new business opportunities.

Anant Bir Singh added, “Colliers is one of the leading international organisations in the field, and it's an absolute privilege for me to join the team of renowned experts. In the current challenging environment, we would endeavor to expand and enhance client relationships by providing strategic solutions embodying a complete understanding of the ecosystem”. 

Ramesh Nair, CEO, India & Managing Director, Market Development, Asia, Colliers said: "I am very happy to welcome Anant to the Colliers team. Colliers has entered a new phase of growth, enabling us to service a broader range of clients and offer diverse and customized solutions. We are building scale, and with the addition of exceptional talent at all levels, we are strengthening our capabilities and commitment to maximize the potential of our client's property."

Repose Mattress Launches The SmartGRID Range Of Mattresses

·      Repose Mattress Pvt Ltd is one of India’s fast growing mattress manufacturers

·      They have a network of 1,500 dealers in India

·      Prabhu Deva has been signed on as their brand ambassador

·      They are launching 2 variants of SmartGRID, a latest mattress product with Japanese patented technology

·      Repose plans to increase their turnover to Rs. 200 cr this financial year, from Rs. 100 cr.

Established in November 2012 with factories in Coimbatore, Pune and Meerut, Repose Mattress Pvt. Ltd. is one of the country’s fastest growing mattress manufacturers. With 400 employees and a network of 1,500 dealers across their sales regions in India, Repose had a turnover of Rs. 103 crores in the last financial year.

Having begun with the manufacture of spring mattresses, Repose have added coir and foam mattresses to their offerings. Known for their innovations in the mattress space, many of their specialist products target niche markets.  

“We have signed up Prabhu Deva, the dance superstar, as our brand ambassador. He has a fan following across the country and Repose aims to use his stature to help us become a national mattress brand. We have  recently launched a series of promotions featuring him on TV and streaming platforms,” said Mr. Ramanath Bhat, COO, Repose Mattress.

In keeping with their innovative offerings and in line with their brand philosophy of Wake up to Fresh Ideas,  and in order to increase market share, Repose is now launching the latest in their line of mattresses – the SmartGRID mattress.

“The SmartGRID mattress is based on technology that has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). It is made up of hyper-elastic polymers using cutting edge technology in the fields of material science and sleep science. It is the biggest disruptor in the Comfort Technology space,” said Mr. Balaji V, CMO, Repose Mattress

 Benefits of SmartGRID technology:

o  The mattress is soft exactly where the body needs it -  the shoulders and hips area – and firm where the body needs stronger support – in the back area.

o  There are 2,500+ air channels which results in a temperature neutral grid design that keeps the mattress cooler.

o  SmartGRID provides instant support to bodily movements resulting in reducing tossing and turning and an undisturbed sleep.

o  The mattress is durable and doesn’t sag over time and stays in its natural form for a long  time

The SmartGRID Product Range

Two variants are currently being launched:

1. Pockeded Spring with Grid Mattress

2. Foam with Grid Mattress

Repose Mattress have an extensive range of mattresses apart from the SmartGRID product and will be expanding into other areas of the country in the immediate future.

“Currently catering primarily to the south Indian market, Repose is expanding into new territories in North India. We aim to have a presence in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana and add 200 more dealers in the process. We are, now, actively considering establishing another factory in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Our objective for this financial year is to have our turnover increase to Rs. 200 crores,” said Mr.Ravi Pandith, VP – Sales & Business Development, Repose Mattress.

Indian Digital Payment Industry Projected To Reach $10 Trillion By 2026: PhonePe Pulse And BCG Release Report On Digital Payments

Highlights of the report:

* Digital Payments Industry To More Than Triple From US$3 tMillion To US$10 Trillion By 2026

* Non-cash payments will constitute nearly 65% of all payments by 2026, up from 40% today

* UPI adoption will surge from 35% in FY 21 to 75% in the next five years

* 7x digital merchant payments’ growth from US$0.3-0.4 trillion today to US$2.5-2.7 trillion by 2026

PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments company, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) today unveiled a report titled, “Digital payments in India: A $10 trillion opportunity”. The report leverages BCG’s industry expertise in payments and the fintech domain, along with PhonePe’s deep insights and expertise as the market leader in Indian digital payments and its extensive Pulse database to look at top digital payments trends in India.

India’s digital payments landscape has witnessed phenomenal growth over the past five years. As per the report, India’s digital payments market is at an inflection point and is expected to more than triple from the current US$3 trillion to US$10 trillion by 2026 (excluding large B2B/ G2B payments). As a result of this unprecedented growth, digital payments (non-cash) will constitute 2 out of 3 payment transactions by 2026 with contributions from across India.

The report also talks about how the digital payments ecosystem has been positively disrupted by the entry of multiple new players with diverse offerings driving payments at scale, and niche players offering financial services such as credit, wealth management and insurance.  Leading global and Indian Fintech players have been key drivers of UPI adoption in India among end users, aided by merchants with user-friendly transaction interfaces, and innovative offerings, supported by an open API ecosystem.

The report goes on to list the levers for the growth of digital payments in India which include - simplified customer onboarding, continued push for consumer awareness, merchants getting greater access to credit, expanding merchant acceptance, infrastructure upgrades and the setting up of a financial services marketplace driving growth in underpenetrated regions. It also talks about how IoT, 5G & CBDC will provide further impetus to growth.

Commenting on the launch, Karthik Raghupathy, Head of Strategy, and Investor Relations, PhonePe, said, ‘’We are excited to partner with BCG to release Digital payments in India: A $10 trillion opportunity. The report is an in-depth commentary on the growth of digital payments in India and looks at factors and enablers that will help unlock the massive growth potential going forward. This report is part of the PhonePe Pulse initiative, which was launched last year, in our effort to give back to the Fintech ecosystem. PhonePe Pulse has been very well received by all the key stakeholders in the ecosystem and has emerged as India’s go to destination for insights and trends on digital payment in the country.

Karthik further added, “‘As India’s largest Fintech platform we have seen the growth of UPI over the last few years. UPI has supercharged India’s transition to non-cash payments when it comes to both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. Not surprisingly, UPI saw about 9x transaction volume increase in past 3 years, increasing from 5 billion transactions in FY19 to about 46 billion transactions in FY22: accounting for more than 60% non-cash transaction volumes in FY22. This indicates that digital payment has truly gained ubiquitous acceptance across the country. While Tier 1-2 cities have witnessed high acceptance of digital payments, penetration in Tier 3-6 cities shows headroom for growth. The next wave of growth will now come from Tier 3-6 locations, as evidenced in the past two years wherein Tier 3-6 cities have contributed to nearly 60-70% of new customers for PhonePe.”

Prateek Roongta, Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group said, “India is set to become a digital payment economy as source of payments invert with 65% transactions being done digitally by 2026, as opposed to 40% transactions today. Merchant payments will emerge as the most powerful driver of this growth, especially in the offline segment due to growing QR code deployments. We expect that merchant payments will soon outpace person-to-person fund transfers.”

Prateek further added, “We will increasingly observe digital payments get embedded in all forms of commerce, we will also witness the progression from embedded payments to embedded finance. As more and more merchants begin to accept digital payments, it will unlock a significant change in access to credit for small merchants due to the creation of a digital transaction trail.”

To download the report, visit: pulse.phonepe.com

Link to the report- https://www.bcg.com/en-in/publications/2022/future-of-digital-payments-in-india

Bentley Acceleration Initiatives Launches ConstructHelix In India

* New Technology Solutions Group Caters to Specific Needs of the Construction Sector in India by Connecting People, Processes, and Systems to Build Cost and Time Efficiencies

Bentley Acceleration Initiatives, the internal incubator for strategic investments of Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced the launch of ConstructHelix, a digital construction technology solutions group that caters to the unique and specific needs of the Indian construction sector. The focus of ConstructHelix is to digitalize construction project workflows through its offering of SaaS solutions, enabling a connected data environment with seamless information flow across people and technologies. As the Indian construction industry forays into the era of digitalization, ConstructHelix will deliver automated workflow solutions in a structured approach that will help ensure solutions complement the industry’s existing technology footprint to deliver construction projects on time and under budget.

In April 2021, Bentley Acceleration Initiatives acquired nPulse, an innovative technology product for the Indian construction sector that forms the core offering of the new digital construction technology solutions group. The acquisition focuses on a new direction and vision to build an ecosystem of products to support digital workflows, automating manual processes and disparate technologies. Bentley Acceleration Initiatives named Ashit Gandhi as senior director of ConstructHelix, supported by Santanu Das, chief acceleration officer and senior vice president, Bentley Acceleration Initiatives.

Commenting on the launch of ConstructHelix, Das said, “The construction sector in India is slated to grow in double digits in fiscal year 2022, and that is very promising. There is, therefore, a clear need for technology interventions that will enable this growth in a structured and efficient manner. We realized that rather than adopting a model-centric approach, this geography would be better served with a schedule-centric approach that integrates time and cost. All other information sources are attached to the schedule and, as users evolve their business processes to manage design projects in 3D and manage the projects in a virtual 4D/5D environment, the solution is ready to adapt to their needs.” 

Gandhi said, “We are very excited to launch India’s first connected technology solution for the construction sector, where projects are gradually moving into a digital-first ecosystem. Losses due to cost overruns and project delays run into billions of dollars worldwide. A vital reason is the absence of an integrated projects control solution that can plug this gap. We believe nPulse is that solution. The software provides a connected data environment, where real-time information and insights, predictive analytics, look-ahead metrics, and automation is made available. ConstructHelix will offer transparent, collaborative digital solutions for owners and contractors to achieve specific, measurable goals for project schedules, cash flows, and earned values.” 

About ConstructHelix

ConstructHelix, part of the Bentley Acceleration Initiatives, connects people, processes and technologies required to complete construction projects on time and under budget. nPulse, their flagship solution, helps capital project owners, real estate developers, and contractors reduce project delays by connecting all project information and predictive analytics to provide immersive decision support in a simple-to-use integrated project controls platform. Designed to drive real-time collaboration across multiple functions and organizations that are part of the capital project, the nPulse platform is sector agnostic and is being used by more than 3,000 end-users in more than 250 diverse projects across 25 countries in a variety of construction and critical infrastructure industries. For more information, please visit www.ConstructHelix.com.

About Bentley Acceleration Initiatives 

Bentley Acceleration Initiatives was launched in 2020 by Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) as part of the BSY Investments group. Their main charter is to accelerate the creation and curation of infrastructure digital twins, and to foster related technologies and innovations. This is accomplished by nurturing new ventures, acquiring and expanding digital integrators, making minority investments through Bentley iTwin Ventures and partnering with other BSY Investment companies like The Cohesive Companies. The group’s portfolio has included Digital Water Works, Digital Construction Works, Virtuosity, OpenTower, ConstructHelix, and Bentley’s Infrastructure IoT. Bentley iTwin Ventures is a $100 million corporate venture capital fund, which co-invests in entrepreneurial companies that are leveraging and expanding the infrastructure digital twins ecosystem. Santanu Das, chief acceleration officer, welcomes queries from potential ecosystem participants at www.BentleyAccelerationInitiatives.com. 

HealthSite.com Concluded Third Edition Of Healthcare Summit – 2022

* The Summit addressed the digital evolution of the healthcare sector

TheHealthSite.com, a one-stop destination for updates on fitness, beauty, diet, yoga, weight training, sexual health, pregnancy, and parenting concluded its third season of a digital summit – The HealthSite.com Summit 2022 - India’s Healthcare Story: Vision 2022.

Opening the summit, Union Health Minister Dr. Mansuk Mandaviya, lauded HealthSite for hosting a gathering of esteemed professionals to discuss strengthening the healthcare sector in India. He said, “To stay aligned with the healthcare needs of the citizens during pandemic, the government is focused towards the total approach not the token approach.  States are preparing themselves for robust physical infrastructure to efficiently utilize the approved funds ECRP 1 and ECRP 2. Under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, India has embarked on digital transformation of healthcare in India.” He also reinforced that the focus is on creation of a longitudinal electronic health record for more than 1.3 billion people of India.

The Covid-19 outbreak led to innovations, the emergence of telehealth, E-ICU, and a changed scenario of Emergency Care where digital solutions, innovations, and reskilling of healthcare workers took a center stage. Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS while extensively talking about equitable healthcare mentioned, “Large part of our population is in rural areas but the percentage of doctors are less than the patients. We need to come up with solutions such as providing incentives to healthcare workers to start working in the rural areas and providing the necessary infrastructure that the rural population needs. Covid has taught us the importance of technology specially in the healthcare sector. Using teleconsultation and telemedicine, E-ICUs, and AI will be a game changer in providing services to the remote areas.” He also reiterated the importance of   Government-led plan to propagate this across the country.

Divided into three sessions of 40 minutes each, Health Summit 2022 addressed the challenges to healthcare in India, what is needed in healthcare to improve the economy, advances in healthcare, innovations, and management, and the rise of AYUSH - its impact on the Indian healthcare scenario. Explaining the healthcare limitations brought by COVID19 crisis and the ways to mend the, loopholes, Dr. K Srinath Reddy, Public Health Foundation of India said, “Unless we have an efficient, equitable, and empathetic healthcare system functioning very reliably even without a public healthcare emergency in the steady state we will not be able to mount a swift strong, strong and sustained surge response when a public health emergency does arise.”

Speaking of the successful event, Shridhar Mishra, CRO-Digital, Zee Media Corporation Limited says, “The pandemic caused the healthcare industry take efforts to make medical support affordable and accessible to all. This summit brought to light the importance and role of such innovation, while also encouraging more such conversations. With this summit we were able to bring these conversations to the mainstream media and for that I’d like to commend our team.”

Speaking of the success of the summit, Puja Sethi, group editor Zee Digital, said, “It is important that we bring together the brightest minds of the sector and provide a platform for dialogue and debate. The panels have brought out important aspects that plague the healthcare system, and we are very proud that our efforts paid off.”

The summit is sponsored by Apollo 24x7; Amazon.in; Samsung Watch; GSK; Bluestar; Sanofi and Neuwoman.

About TheHealthSite: TheHealthSite is a one-stop destination for the update, guides, and opinion pieces on fitness, beauty, diet, yoga, weight training, sexual health, pregnancy, and parenting. The portfolio includes a range of versatile content that combines the best of age-old traditions with the cutting-edge healthcare of today. More than 200 doctors and experts from the health and wellness fields contribute regularly to the website.

Signify Launches EcoLink AeroFlo Silent Ceiling Fans In Indian Market

* With its low noise operation and powerful aerodynamic blades, the fan is the perfect summer companion this season

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has launched EcoLink AeroFlo silent ceiling fans in India. The fan features aerodynamically designed blades and a high-performance motor that promises a superior air flow of 240 cu.m/min. The motor features a sturdy design and double ball bearings deliver a superior performance while ensuring low noise.

The blades are made up of high-grade glass filled ABS that are 100% rust-free, ensuring long lasting performance and durability. EcoLink AeroFlo ceiling fans have been EcoLink AeroFlo Silent Ceiling Fan

• Low Noise Operation 

• 3 Colour options - Pearl White, Hazel Brown, Walnut wood

• High gloss premium finish 

• Aerodynamic rust-free blades 

• Blade Sweep: 1250 mm

• Power: 80W 

• Speed: 300 RPM

• Air Delivery: 240 cu.m/min

• Superior motor with double ball bearing 

• 2-year warranty 

exclusively designed for modern Indian homes and feature a new-age integrated design with high gloss premium PU finish. The fans are available in 3 elegant color options (Pearl White, Hazel Brown, Walnut wood), to match your home interiors and enhance the aesthetics of your home.

Commenting on the launch, Sumit Joshi, CEO & Managing Director, Signify (South Asia) said, “Consumers today seek much more than just functionality from ceiling fans. They are looking for superior performance, great aesthetics, high air delivery combined with a low noise operation to suit their evolving tastes. Keeping these consumer insights in mind, we are pleased to introduce our new range of EcoLink AeroFlo silent ceiling fans in India. With their sturdy motor, appealing design, aerodynamic profiled blades and superior airflow, these fans are designed to deliver a great experience to urban consumers.”

The EcoLink AeroFlo silent ceiling fan offers a 2-year warranty and is available across leading small and large format retail stores and e-commerce platforms.

Signify has recently signed on leading Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi as the brand ambassador for its EcoLink brand. The company has released a TVC for its EcoLink AeroFlo silent ceiling fans, featuring the actor. Click here to watch the film.