Brookfield Properties Launches ‘Positive Pulse, A Wellness Initiative’ to Promote Workplace Engagements & Events, Online

Keeping spirits high during work from home, Brookfield Properties is engaging with its occupiers, stakeholders and employees digitally to promote wellness and good health. The company has rolled out a month-long program titled ‘‘Positive Pulse, A Wellness Initiative’,  to host a series of engagement activities, interactive sessions with industry experts, creating engagement videos and running rewarding contests  across its Commercial Real Estate portfolios, Candor TechSpace in Gurgaon, Noida and Kolkata;  as well as for Powai Business District and Equinox Business Park in Mumbai.

According to a recent JLL report, social distancing, health challenges and absenteeism are likely to present a potential impediment to business operations across various sectors. This puts wellness at the forefront, as a basic corporate duty for leaders to ensure the health and safety of their employees while they work from home during the unprecedented lockdown.

As part of its latest initiative, Brookfield Properties will be hosting several special webinars  and the first two are already online - one on Health with Dr Shweta Fageria, MBBS – General Physician, where she will drive awareness around various precautionary measures to stay immune to the coronavirus and another on financial health with  Monika Halan – best-selling author of “Let’s Talk Money” & Consulting Editor, Mint Money that will cover effective financial management to ride  the lockdown and turbulence.

This program will also comprise a series of cooking sessions with celebrity chef Abhishek Gupta & Indian MasterChef Vinod Saini of The Leela Palace Hotel Resorts, who will be posting live videos of diverse easy-to-prepare delicacies. Also, there will be a virtual skill-based CSR volunteering adding value and balance to the work-life of professionals even when they are away from their workplace.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Alok Aggarwal, MD & CEO India Office Business, Brookfield Properties, said, “At Brookfield Properties, we have always kept employee engagement at the forefront of our operations. Not only does it help them stay connected with the organization and its culture, but it also gives a major boost to their productivity levels while ensuring balance and wellness in their stressful schedules. In line with this vision, we have been conducting various offline engagement activities including sports and entertainment meets, workshops, and inter-corporate tournaments, among others. However, since it is not possible at the moment while we ensure compliance with social distancing, we have taken the online route to continue with our journey. We hope this program will help them survive these challenging times with fun and energy, and also keep them fit and healthy – both physically and mentally – during the lockdown period.”

Discovery Plus Launches Campaign Urging People to Stay Indoors & Stream the Outdoors

Key Pointers

* #SafetyExtended offer valid till mid-night of April 16 gives users an annual subscription at the cost of a monthly plan.
* Will release anthology of Covid-19 documentaries which can be streamed without a premium account in light of widespread curiosity about the pandemic

Discovery Plus, India’s first ever real-life entertainment OTT platform, with an aim to engage audiences in the period of extended lockdown, has launched a limited time annual subscription package at an unbelievable price of INR 99. The offer gives users an annual subscription at the cost of a monthly plan.  The #SafetyExtended offer can be availed on the Premium page of the app and is available till 11:59 pm, April 16th.  To drive home the message, Discovery Plus has launched digital campaign urging people to stay indoors with a film titled ‘The outdoors can wait’.

Further, Discovery Plus will be releasing an anthology of three Covid-19 documentaries this week, which can be streamed without a premium account in light of widespread curiosity about the Pandemic. Among the specials to be released is Pandemic Covid 19, a 45-minute probing documentary where experts reveal why COVID-19 is unique, why the world was so unprepared for it and what could have been done differently to contain its spread. 

The streaming service, which was launched earlier this year, offers thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres, including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in 8 languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali & Marathi.

Issac John, Business Head – Digital (South Asia), Discovery, said, “Our campaign film drives the message of urging audiences to stay indoors while bringing alive the most picturesque outdoors on earth – outdoors which can be seen through myriad shows that are available on the app. The idea of the #SafetyExtended offer is to help families across the country enjoy and engage with premium and high-quality real-life entertainment during the extended lockdown period. Alongside, given the huge interest amongst audiences about Covid-19, we’re releasing three documentaries on Covid-19 which will be available for free consumption on the platform.”

The content on Discovery Plus has been carefully curated from the world’s most trusted content brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, ID, Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Motortrend and VICE.

Developed and curated especially for the Indian audience, Discovery Plus has seen a strong rise in consumption since its launch last month, with shows on science, adventure and lifestyle receiving a phenomenal response from viewers.

To download the app, please click here  https://dplus.onelink.me/x8pk/a15

Zenfold Ventures Takes Equity Stake in Esperer Onco Nutrition

Esperer Onco Nutrition Pvt Ltd (EON), a pioneer in bringing  comprehensive nutritional portfolio to oncology, announced significant amount of fund raising from Zenfold Ventures.

Talking about the stake sale Mr. Raktim Chattopadhyay, Founder & CEO Esperer Onco Nutrition Pvt Ltd said, "Onco-nutrition is one of the critical complementary therapy for cancer patients. EON has several patentable products that are used to bring optimal efficacy to the main therapy by complementing it with nutrition to add  better quality of health and life. Esperer nutri-therapies provide the much needed body strength for onco-patients to overcome the side effect of primary treatment providing better outcomes for onco-patients. We are thrilled to have Zenfold Ventures as a strategic investor in EON, and this infusion will help us reach more cancer patients in a shorter time.”

Explaining the rationale behind the investment, Mr. Arun Dubey Managing Partner at Zenfold Ventures said "Zenfold's investment & partnership outlook is sector and stage agnostic. At present some of the ventures we are building ,are in the space of Nutraceuticals. We believe EON has a very scientifically backed approach to nutrition and has strong capabilities to execute of the vision." 

“We plan to use the latest funds to expand our reach to the US and European markets and also to build a world-class talent pool”, added Mr. Chattopadhyay. Esperer nutrition has already expanded its team of experts in scientific and R& D departments and will also be adding key people in finance and marketing and supply chain.

The strategy of EON is based on clinical validations of nutraceutical elements which are used for both onco-management and prevention. Over the next two years EON plans to have  more technical collaborations with international technical authorities to expand its research and product portfolio.

Mr. Chattopadhyay explained, “EON takes responsible nutrition very seriously and studies it with respect to the science of biochemistry. With the scientific platform in place, the discovery of modified nutraceutical portfolio has been developed to suit different conditions of patients undergoing chemo. Esperer nutrition takes pride in having developed the world's first condition-specific nutrition for oncology to impact quality health outcome.”

About EON
Esperer Nutrition strives to champion the role of nutritional therapies that have proven clinical & health economic value, & improve the quality of people’s lives. EON is destined to understand, treat & help prevent a range of medical conditions by leveraging nutrition and life sciences. 

Company  aims to address specific health conditions with special emphasis on Onco Nutrition &  intend to provide a 360 degree solution to global cancer portfolio right from Preventive Oncology to Cancer Disease Management using Nutraceutical as complementary therapy to stage & region specific cancer patients.

EON aspire to become global pioneer  considering Drug-Nutrient  Interaction as major factor in chronic  disease management. 

Yamaha New Fascino 125 FI is Complete Makeover with Bigger BS VI-Compliant Engine

The all new Fascino 125 FI sets its impression as the style statement for young riders. The new Fascino is a complete makeover with a bigger BS VI-compliant engine and exciting features. Slimmed waistline, finely textured look, high class exterior design, the body of the new Fascino has those flow lines and surfaces that revs in style. A complimenting headlight with concave lens sets a sharp looking gaze to the overall appearance of the Fascino and shapes its noble attitude. The new Fascino 125 FI from Yamaha is street-ready to rev hearts.

Yamaha’s unique style brings metallic accents surrounding the headlight and the front panel on the scooter body only to define its classic European style. High on making an impression along with unique technologies, the new Fascino barges into the city rides or hangouts of the style conscious tandem riders emphasizing their regal lifestyle.

Yamaha Fascino’s European design rests on curvy & higher quality bodywork, dual core treatment, newly designed headlight, new gauges and other features producing the never-before elegance and status. The Fascino’s sharp looking gaze is accentuated by its wide range of colour models including Vivid Red, Metallic Black, Yellow Cocktail, Matte Blue, Dark Matte Blue, Suave Copper and Cyan Blue tailored for the assorted lifestyle of young riders.

High performance of 30% more power and 16% more fuel economy due to the new Blue Core enabled 125 Fuel injected engine, Fascino’s lithe physique and the sleek manoeuvrability is reminiscent of the new dazzling streamer with an improved drive force, less fuel consumption and cleaner emissions. Available in both Disc and Drum brakes, along with UBS and Side stand switch, the new Fascino is all set to earn its nobility from the young fashionistas of India. The price of the new Fascino 125 FI starts from Rs. 67,230 (Ex showroom Delhi).

Trend Micro Honoured As 2019 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year for Security

Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced that it has been awarded as the 2019 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year for Security. This award recognises accomplishments on Google Cloud and further confirms Trend Micro’s leadership in cloud security.

“We’re pleased to recognise Trend Micro as our Technology Partner of the Year for Security,” said Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate Vice President, Global Ecosystem at Google Cloud. “Organisations running Trend Micro’s ‘Cloud One’ on Google Cloud can benefit from a single, unified platform that brings together container, workload, network, and file storage security, while leveraging Google Cloud’s global and elastic infrastructure.”

Google Cloud customers running Trend Micro have long benefitted from a complete stack, which includes infrastructure and security integrated and tested together to help customers meet their security and governance guidelines.

A joint customer that depends on both Google Cloud and Trend Micro is ClearData. Their chief technology officer and co-founder shared, “Looking at a lot of different market leaders, we considered Trend Micro to be ahead of the curve with their implementation and integration and cloud security capabilities.” He continued by saying, “Companies go to the cloud to take advantage of these new technologies, and Trend Micro and Google Cloud deliver a secure, seamless experience to their customers.”

Cloud security has been simplified into a single security services platform. Recently launched, Cloud One from Trend Micro brings together workload security, container image scanning/runtime protection, application security, network security, file storage security and cloud security posture management (CSPM).

“We see our customers around the globe leveraging Google Cloud and benefitting from the comprehensive controls provided by Cloud One,” said Sanjay Mehta, senior vice president of business development and strategic alliances for Trend Micro. “Being selected as Google Cloud’s Technology Partner of the Year for Security is a huge recognition for us, especially in a noisy cloud market where many vendors lack the depth and integrated modern cloud security portfolio for build-time to runtime application protection. We couldn’t be more proud and are excited to delight customers with more innovations we have planned for Google Cloud over the year ahead.”

Intuit QuickBooks Starts Program to Help Small Businesses & Accountants in India During COVID-19

Intuit QuickBooks has announced that it is starting a program called Consult an Expert to support small businesses and accountants in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Intuit’s QuickBooks Online is the world’s online leading financial management solution for small business owners and accountants.

The Consult an Expert program will provide free, timely, relevant and virtual advice from a pool of experts to small businesses and accountants in the country. Small businesses can now connect with an Intuit QuickBooks’ verified expert and get advice on tax filing, managing a virtual business, collaborating with an accountant and financial planning for the new fiscal. Accountants can leverage the advisors to learn about on managing a virtual firm and consulting plus supporting their clients during this time.

Talking about the program, Aditi Puri Batra, Country Manager, Intuit QuickBooks India, said, “At Intuit QuickBooks India, we recognize the challenges that confront small businesses and accountants from the constantly changing COVID-19 situation. They have to quickly adapt to new ways of working and maintain their financial health as well. This program aims to help them run their business, serve their customers, and manage their employees more effectively in today’s environment. This includes how they can continue running their business in a virtual environment, best practices for working remotely and getting ahead on their financial situation. We have brought on board professionals with expertise in accounting, taxation, budgeting, payroll, cloud accountings, Goods and Services Tax, management reporting, compliance, to cover a number of aspects of financial management relevant to our customers. Along with this these experts are also early adopters of technology and have a wealth of experience in managing their practice virtually.

Apart from the Consult an Expert program, Intuit QuickBooks India has created a COVID-19 microsite to equip small businesses and accountants with important and relevant information on how they can prepare for business continuity, communicate with their customers and support their employees during the virus outbreak. The content ranges from useful tips on financial preparedness, workplace prevention, best practices for remote work, boosting employee morale among others. Links to Indian government resources like the Ministry of Health and Family welfare along with links to articles from the QuickBooks India blog have also been provided. The content on the microsite is periodically updated.

For more information on Consult an Expert program, check out:  https://quickbooks.intuit.com/in/consultanexpert/ 

Milaap Enables Unity Against Covid-19 to Stay Safe Through the Pandemic

Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has infected more than 3.75 lakh people worldwide, killing more than 16,300. In India alone, it has so far caused 10 deaths and infected at least 500 people as of 25th March 2020. In the past week, several states across India have put safety first by closing down schools, colleges, malls, theatres, restaurants, shops and non-essential workplaces, recommending working from home where possible. The nation is now under a lockdown for 21 days.

However, there are many people in our society like doctors, nurses, delivery staff, conservancy workers (garbage/waste segregators) and field volunteers, among others, still working tirelessly to ensure our societal needs are met: often at the risk of their personal safety.  Moreover, with the increasing number of people being tested positive worldwide, it’s also important to remember that not everyone can remain in quarantine without their lives being completely upturned. The financial impact of the pandemic, especially on blue-collar workers and families that survive on a daily wage, is far reaching.

This Sunday, on March 22 2020, Milaap, South Asia’s largest crowdfunding platform, opened itself up for fundraisers around Covid-19. In an attempt to help those whose lives have been worst affected by the pandemic, a separate page, milaap.org/covid19 has been launched. The causes range from providing essentials to nearby slums in bigger cities to equipping doctors/their social initiatives with protective gear, and even ventilators for smaller hospitals without the facility. While renowned people like Luis Miranda and Venkat Iyer have set up fundraisers on one hand, there are many regular individuals who are raising funds to support particular families in distress around them. In the spirit of global solidarity, Milaap has waived off their platform fee completely for all fundraisers under this cause.

Mayukh Choudhury, CEO and co-founder of Milaap said, “This crowdfunding project is to highlight citizen initiatives across India to mitigate the economic crisis faced by vulnerable families, as well as support those who are in the frontlines, with the monetary resources they deserve. Our larger objective is to inspire each one of us to look within our circles, our neighborhoods, and support the vulnerable in this hour of need. While it might take a while to get back to normalcy, even small acts of kindness can make this easier.”

“We have always stood by communities during natural calamities and disasters. This is no different. In this digital era, generosity can flow unhinged even when physical infrastructure crumbles. Many of our donors have reached out to us for verified, credible avenues to express their support for citizen-led fundraising initiatives. Within 2 days, nearly 2000 donors have supported fundraisers under the cause and the number is rising as we speak. Since the only way to fight a crisis at this scale is to do it together, Milaap is doing it’s best so that people can help each other. On our end, we are offering the platform at a 0% fee so that people in need can get all the help coming their way.” he added.

Milaap, a crowdfunding platform primarily for personal medical causes has so far raised nearly 10 Crores from 40,000+ donors for such emergency causes and disaster relief, including the floods in Chennai, Assam and Kerala. While the platform can only extend support for causes in India, fundraisers can accept help from anywhere across the world.

There are 3 ways to participate

Make a donation to any of the campaigns listed at milaap.org/covid19
Start your own fundraiser for someone who’s been affected by the crisis. It could be an individual (eg your household help, an office colleague) or a neighborhood initiative (eg local restaurant, school meals program).  Rally your friends, neighbors and colleagues to contribute. Fundraising is free - there are NO charges on donations received.

Get inspired and do it in your circle (family/neighbors) supporting a vulnerable family directly.