Archives April 2024

Bengaluru 9th April 2024: Sakra World Hospital, a pioneering healthcare facility in India funded entirely by foreign direct investment (FDI), has completed 100 robotic gastrointestinal (GI) surgeries. In the medical field, robotic-assisted surgical procedures are steadily on the rise. The increasing acceptance of robotic surgeries can be attributed to their accuracy, minimally invasive techniques, and capacity to improve surgical outcomes. With a group of skilled surgeons and cutting-edge facilities, Sakra World Hospital has become a pioneer in leveraging this technology to help patients suffering from gastrointestinal surgical issues.

Robotic-assisted surgery enables the performance of intricate procedures across a wide spectrum, including colorectal cancers, and benign and malignant conditions of the liver, biliary system, and pancreas, apart from complex hernia repairs, gallbladder removals, and abdominal wall reconstruction. With a focus on less trauma and greater precision in these surgical interventions, Sakra tremendously benefits patients specializing in upper gastrointestinal surgeries, such as giant hiatal hernias, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Heller’s myotomy, and even uncommon conditions like median arcuate ligament syndrome.

“We take immense pride in reaching a significant milestone in robotic GI surgeries, underscoring the skill and commitment of our proficient surgical team,” lauded Lovekesh Phasu, Chief Operating Officer, Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, adding, “At Sakra, we’re committed to setting high standards and achieving them, to benefit our patients and provide quality healthcare for all.”

The application of robot-assisted technologies has greatly improved surgical capabilities in GI surgeries. These systems are operated directly by surgeons, in contrast to autonomous systems, which enable careful dissection around target organs. Although laparoscopic surgery provides benefits such as accurate dissection under high-resolution imaging and minimally invasive procedures, it has limitations due to the limited dexterity of the instruments. These limitations are overcome by the existing robotic system’s articulated instruments, vibration filtering, and motion scaling functions. These capabilities allow surgeons to perform more versatile surgeries than they could with standard laparoscopic equipment.

Moreover, the robotic system’s instruments with wrist-like movements and dexterity assures delicate tissue handling and precision surgery with minimal bleeding. This capability, coupled with three-dimensional magnified, enhanced imaging, provides a platform wherein complex procedures in critical places and organs can be safely performed. Through these innovations, robotics surgery in the gastrointestinal realm continues to push boundaries, enhancing surgical precision and expanding treatment options for patients.

Robotic GI surgery has emerged as a reassuring alternative to traditional methods, dispelling common fears. The robotic system not only provides surgeons with better visualization and precision, but the patient also benefits from smaller incisions, less blood loss, quicker recovery, and reduced post-operative pain.

“The completion of 100 robotic GI surgeries at Sakra World Hospital not only marks a numerical achievement but also serves as evidence of the hospital’s steadfast dedication to delivering top-notch care to its patients,” remarked Dr Sadiq Saleem Sikora, Director of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Liver Transplantation at Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru.

India, 9th April 2024 – Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company, today announced an entrance into the observability market with the acquisition of Baselime, the cloud-native observability platform. By integrating Baselime’s technology with Cloudflare’s developer platform, Cloudflare will be uniquely positioned to bring deep knowledge of serverless platforms and developer experience together to solve the challenges of observability for serverless apps.

Today, entire applications are built on serverless architectures, from computing to databases, storage, queues, and more. Still, observability is often regarded as one of the weaknesses of serverless architectures — trading off visibility into the application’s behavior for a scalable infrastructure that doesn’t need to be managed. Building and debugging production applications requires the ability to understand trends and patterns, identify performance bottlenecks, and isolate errors to ensure ongoing reliability, scalability, and security. Having access to this level of visibility, preferably all within one platform, is a critical factor developers consider when choosing a platform on which to build.

“Two million developers building on Cloudflare trust us to help scale their apps globally, but can still struggle to understand the behavior of their cloud applications,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO, of Cloudflare. “We believe that to be the leading developer platform, having the best observability tools built in is going to be table-stakes. Baseline has raised the standard for serverless observability and we can further unlock those insights for every developer building on our platform.”

With this acquisition, Cloudflare enters into the observability market to further enable developers to deploy services in production — allowing teams to identify when a release has gone wrong and needs to be rolled back, investigate bugs and regressions, optimize performance, and more. Developers will also benefit from the ability to optimize the cost of their serverless applications, by understanding the rate of requests made and analyzing sources of latency.

With this acquisition, Baseline will be integrated into Cloudflare’s developer platform, helping developers push the boundaries of modern observability to:

● Analyze their observability data across thousands of possible fields and values, to surface all errors, requests, or performance issues for specific users or across their entire applications.
● Enable and adopt OpenTelemetry-based tools and standards to facilitate integration with a diverse set of application frameworks and cloud providers. These tools and standards enable developers to easily and consistently instrument their applications for rich observability data, making it easier to quickly troubleshoot issues, whether they impact a single user, a subset of users or the entire application.
● Extract insights from their observability data thanks to a suite of developer experience improvements, including real-time error tracking based on logs and traces, actionable alerts, trace diagrams and timelines, an approachable query engine, and an AI debugging assistant.

“Cloudflare is building the next frontier of cloud computing with their connectivity cloud. Our core mission has always been to simplify and innovate observability for the future of the cloud, and Cloudflare’s ecosystem offers the ideal ground to further this cause,” said Boris Tane, founder and CEO, Baselime. “With Cloudflare, we’re positioned to deeply integrate into a platform that two million developers trust, enabling them to build, ship, and troubleshoot applications fast. I am incredibly excited about the potential of what we can build together and the impact it will have on developers around the world.”

To learn more, please check out the resources below:

● Blog: Cloudflare acquires Baseline to expand serverless application observability capabilities
● Two million developers are now building on Cloudflare’s developer platform
● cloudflare.com/developer-platform/

Bengaluru, 9th April 2024: In line with its commitment to sports, Coca-Cola India through its Foundation, is supporting the country’s athletes with essential amenities and training equipment as part of its three-year partnership with the Anju Bobby Sports Foundation. Spearheaded by Olympic champion Anju Bobby George, the Foundation has been nurturing the next generation of women athletes including the very known long jumper- Shaili Singh. This partnership aligns with Coca-Cola India’s #SheTheDifference campaign, an initiative to celebrate, uplift, and support women throughout the value chain. As part of this partnership, Coca-Cola India is committed to empowering women athletes to bring about positive change in the sports and gender equality landscape.

Coca-Cola India, through its Foundation, has made significant strides in bolstering the representation of Indian women athletes in the Olympics. The company has transformed four shipping containers into a physiotherapy room, storage facility, pantry, and restroom. The company also facilitated top-tier gym equipment and supported the establishment of a spacious practice ground equipped with rainwater collection tanks for sustainable water usage. In addition to infrastructure development, Coca-Cola has helped with the academy’s lease rent for three years, ensuring a stable operational foundation.

In a nation where many female athletes emerge from small towns and villages, facing limited access to training facilities, coaching, and financial support, this collaboration aims to level the playing field. A PWC report highlights the remarkable shift in the gender balance at the Tokyo Olympics, with 44% of Indian participants being women.

Commenting on the partnership, Rajesh Ayapilla, Director-CSR and Sustainability for Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia (INSWA), said, “At Coca-Cola India, we believe in the power of sports to inspire, empower, and unite communities. Our longstanding partnership with the Anju Bobby Sports Foundation reflects our commitment to fostering the next generation of Indian women athletes. With sports being an integral part of both organizations’ DNA, through such initiatives, we are dedicated to creating a supportive environment where athletes can thrive. We are proud to sponsor talented individuals like Shaili Singh, reaffirming our commitment to empowering women in sports and contributing to their success on the global stage”.

“I feel honored to be associated with such a brand like Coca-Cola India. They were the first ones to support our cause and their contribution has been instrumental in creating a world-class training facility in India at the Anju Bobby High Performance Center, Bangalore. Today, we have some top-quality track and field equipment, and some of the quality gym equipment, and our athletes here are focused on making the most of these facilities to help India win its Olympic medal. Personally, as well, I feel if I could win India’s first world championship medal, it’s my duty to share my knowledge and experience with these young women, thereby contributing to India’s success”, said Anju Bobby George, Founder, of Anju Bobby Sports Foundation.

The social impact of this initiative extends beyond individual achievements in the field. By empowering women athletes, the Foundation along with Coca-Cola India is nurturing future leaders who will contribute back to the sports community as coaches, trainers, therapists, and administrators.

India, 8th April 2024: Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), a constituent institute of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, along with the Harish and Bina Shah Foundation (HBSF)- a charitable foundation started by MAHE’s successful Alumnus (1980) Mr Harish Shah is proud to launch the HBSF-MAHE EduEmpower Scholarship for meritorious students from weaker economic sections across India. The scholarship was officially launched on the 6th of April 2024, at an event held in MIT and is aimed to support approximately 240 HBSF-MAHE Scholars (an average of 60 HBSF-MAHE Scholars in a year), aggregating to support of Rs 12 crore per year. This scholarship will be available for students joining the academic year 24-25. It is the first time that a scholarship of this magnitude and mission has been constituted and supported by an alumni of MIT.

Mr Harish Shah, an Alumnus of MIT 1980, founded ‘Signet’ in 1986, a company that today stands as India’s leading pharmaceutical raw materials business with global outreach and pioneering product offerings. In 2020, Signet became a part of IMCD N.V., Netherlands. The Shah family’s philanthropic foundation, the Harish and Bina Shah Foundation(HBSF) started in 2002 and supports several mainstream and emerging social issues such as education, health, livelihoods, gender equity, environment and sustainability, and arts and culture.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TO AVAIL THE HBSF-MAHE-EduEmpower Scholarship

• Should have studied standard 8–12 (5 years of schooling) in any State / Central Government School / PU Colleges within India
• Must have scored 85% or more marks or equivalent in standard 12 board examinations with Physics, Mathematics, and any optional paper as subjects
• The candidate’s family income should be less than INR 8 lakhs per annum.
• The candidate’s All India Rank in the MAHE entrance test should be between 1–10,000

Speaking on the initiative, Dr Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor MAHE said, “ This is a great day for MAHE and MIT to announce an initiative by an Alumnus. In the life of an Academic Institution, the accomplishments of its Alumni is a great testament to what “providing education is all about”

Mr Harish Shah shared his excitement by stating “I always wondered what I can do for MIT and the Manipal group, who have shaped me in so many ways. This scholarship at MIT is one such initiative, where we as a family believe many more children can aspire to have a holistic and technically sound education, thereby becoming good citizens of tomorrow’s India.It feels nostalgic to return to MIT where I have spent five glorious years and I feel wonderful that I am returning to my roots, this time to give back.”

Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, MIT, has this to say “As a university committed to offering equal opportunities to all aspiring minds, we are proud to announce the launch of the HBSF-MAHE-EduEmpower Scholarship to support meritorious students from underprivileged economic backgrounds to pursue their dreams in engineering. This initiative sponsored by an Alumnus is a demonstrating testament to our commitment towards fostering talent and creating a more inclusive society, ensuring that talent knows no economic boundaries”.

Dr. HS Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, MAHE, said, “I’m proud to inform that our college is offering scholarships to worthy applicants. Education is about more than just information acquisition; it’s about empowering individuals to reach their greatest potential. We aspire to create a brighter future for our students and society at large by offering these scholarships because we think that every gifted and driven student should have the chance to fulfill their aspirations”.

Kurukshetra/Karnal, 8th April 2024: Reiterating its commitment to empowering farmers, Susheel Kumar, Country Head and MD of Syngenta India, a leading Swiss-based agri-science company, on Saturday applauded the ease and speed with which Haryana farmers have adopted the use of drones and other technologies including CropWise Growers App. Joining a drone flying demonstration by Syngenta-trained drone pilots at the Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre (IBDC) in Kurukshetra, Kumar said Haryana was poised for faster growth with a mix of enabling policies and progressive vision of farmers. IBDC is an Indo-Israel agriculture project established by the Department of Horticulture, Govt. of Haryana for the development of beekeeping in Haryana. Kumar visited the facility and expressed keen interest in the activities of IBDC. The support to IBDC is in keeping with Syngenta’s commitment to sustainability and conservation of pollinators.

A native of Haryana, who loves to call himself ‘son of the soil’ Kumar said Syngenta will continue to support initiatives of the Haryana government to empower farmers through futuristic farming techniques and practices. “Farmers safety is at the heart of Syngenta and towards this we carry out stewardship activities to train farmers on safe spraying,” Kumar added.

Syngenta’s R&D Center is a 25-year-old state-of-the-art facility in Karnal carrying out breeding activities of seeds like Okra, Watermelon, Tomato, and cucumber. “Through its continued emphasis on high-quality research, the Centre is dedicated to providing the finest varieties for best yields and economic gains of farmers in Haryana and north India,” said Kumar while demonstrating to the farmers the various activities being carried out here.

Later, Kumar also joined a group of farmers who demonstrated drone flying. “Under our CSR program, in collaboration with Syngenta Foundation of India, we launched a drone pilots training program under which we have trained 100 drone pilots in Haryana including 18 women, from across 16 districts of Haryana. This is a game-changer for it will not only provide new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth, but will also enhance efficiency for our farmers, and help in their yields. It augurs well for the future of farming in Haryana, as drones help in precision spraying of crop protection solutions saving resources and time,” Kumar said.

With the increasing role of drones in boosting agricultural productivity and empowering farmers, this initiative aims to equip farmers of Haryana with the benefits and implications of modern farming practices and also educate farmers about the transformative potential of drones in farming, including efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and the promotion of sustainable practices.

Syngenta’s farmer-focused CSR and stewardship efforts, such as I-CLEAN (Inculcating Cleanliness, Learning, Education, Awareness, and New Habits), I-SAFE (Inculcating Safety Awareness for Farmer Empowerment), WeCare, Soil Care, and Drone Awareness Yatras, have played a key role in bringing positive transformations at the grassroots level.

Syngenta has been implementing SoilCare projects across states since 2019. In Haryana, we conducted 1000 Soil tests and provided Soil Health Cards to farmers in 2023 along with education on how to analyse the test report and the way forward.

“Under WeCare where we partner with schools and academic institutions to educate young children on safety needs and leverage them as ambassadors. This initiative brings about a behavioral change in farmers,” informed Kumar.

Emphasizing on the key role of technology in achieving sustainable agriculture, Kumar said that Syngenta India is at the forefront of enabling farmers to embrace innovation, not only for a greener future but also for increased productivity and improved income. Highlighting the significance of technology integration in agriculture, he noted that the world faces escalating food demand and environmental challenges. He underlined how technology adoption in agriculture can ensure food security, resilience, and resource-efficient farming systems.

Dr KC Ravi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Syngenta India Pvt Ltd highlighted Syngenta’s commitment to technology-driven progress across the country and support farmers towards rural prosperity by bringing new technology and sustainable solutions in time given unique challenges and needs of Indian farmers. He mentioned the launch of drone spray solutions and the successful implementation of commercial spray services across several states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka is a step towards realizing our commitment.

Kolkata, 8th April 2024 Greater Kolkata College of Engin ring, under the esteemed aegis of JIS Group Education Initiatives, concluded the two-day-long event, the 3rd National Conference on Emerging Approaches Towards Sustainability (NCEATS-2024). In technical collaboration with the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) Kolkata chapter, the conference was held on April 5th and 6th, 2024. Distinguished personalities from academia and industry graced the event, including Prof. (Dr.) Jyotsna Kumar Mandal, Ex. Vice Chancellor of Raiganj University West Bengal and Former Chairman of both CSI Kolkata Chapter & IETE Kolkata Center; Prof. (Dr.) Debashis De, Chairman of CSI-Kolkata Chapter and Professor at MAKAUT; Dr. Jyoti Sekhar Banerjee, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (AI and ML) at Bengal Institute of Technology, Kolkata, India, and Secretary of CSI-Kolkata Chapter; Dr. Aniruddha Nag, Associate Professor at Techno India Group and Secretary of IETE, Ex-Chairman of CSI; Dr. Atanu Bhattacharjee, Associate Professor at JIS University, West Bengal; and Prof. (Dr.) Mahuya Das, Principal of GKCEM, Baruipur, Kolkata, West Bengal.

The primary objective of NCEATS-2024 was to provide a platform for academicians, engineers, and professionals from research laboratories and industry to share and exchange the latest advancements and findings in their respective fields. The conference featured oral presentations of technical papers across four diverse tracks over two days. NCEATS-2024 witnessed an overwhelming response, with 58 research papers in total among which 20 papers are from various states across the nation other than West Bengal. The accepted papers will be published in UGC Care and other indexing journals, thereby amplifying the dissemination of knowledge and bringing forward collaboration within the academic and industrial sectors. NCEATS-2024 stands as a token of commitment of Greater Kolkata College of Engineering and its partners to promote sustainable development through innovation and research. The conference serves as a vital platform for nurturing ideas, promoting interdisciplinary collaborations, and driving positive change toward a sustainable future.

On this occasion, Sardar Simarpreet Singh, Director, JIS Group, said, “Sustainability is not just a buzzword; it’s a commitment to our future. NCEATS-2024 exemplifies our dedication to garner innovation and collaboration towards a sustainable tomorrow.”

Bengaluru, 8th April 2024: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Bengaluru hosted Bengaluru’s biggest Open House, a dynamic event that displayed the wide range of academic programs, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and the vibrant campus life offered at MAHE B’LRU. The event took place on 6th April at the MAHE B’LRU campus.

Open House was a day packed with rich, meaningful interactions and exciting activities with interactive workshops, engaging quizzes, career-focused career assessment tests, and more. It was aimed at fostering academic excellence through intellectual competition while giving prospective students and parents the chance to experience first-hand, the unique offerings and holistic learning environment provided by MAHE Bengaluru. The engaging sessions at the open house were aimed to encourage intellectual curiosity & meaningful conversations.

The day started with a welcome presentation and Q&A session by Mr. Gaurav Yadav, Deputy Director of Admissions at MAHE B’LRU, followed by a talk hosted by Prof. Madhu Veeraraghavan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at MAHE Bengaluru. One of the highlights of the event was a special stand-up comedy session featuring renowned comedian Kenny Sebastian. The day ended with his hilarious anecdotes and observations, adding a touch of laughter to the day’s proceedings. The event hosted a total of 2000 attendees.

Proud of the successful event, Prof. Madhu Veeraraghavan, Pro VC of MAHE Bengaluru said, “We are thrilled to host the city’s biggest open house event, providing prospective students and their families with a glimpse into the vibrant community and rich academic offerings at MAHE B’LRU. With engaging campus tours, informative sessions, and a special stand-up comedy performance, we hope we were able to create a memorable experience for all attendees.”

The General Elections are around the corner and campaigning has started in full swing. Since it is the scorching summer, it is important to take care of one’s overall health for both the Candidate and the supporters. The scorching heat makes our body go through several complications that unknowingly damage our internal organs, skin, and eyes. To prevent serious medical complications, one must focus on adopting certain precautionary measures that will help one to stay fit and healthy.

Dr Payel Kumar Roy, Chief Dietician & Critical Care Nutritionist, Techno India DAMA Hospital & Healthcare Medical Centre throws light on crucial dietary suggestions for maintaining a healthy body while doing election promotions.

One needs to consume light and easy foods as their daily diet. Such foods and drinks protect against dehydration and help maintain optimal levels of energy.

Eat a lot of fresh fruits, salads, and lightly spiced foods as the fruits and veggies are easy to digest. They bear high water content and help in hydration. Avoid fried and junk foods as they take time to digest and require a lot of water. Spicy foods can also increase body heat. Summers can be incredibly exhausting and can leave one feeling drained out. Nothing is better than refreshing oneself with quick and tasty drinks. Fruit juices like Wonder watermelon, Lemon punch, Cool cucumber, and Masala Jeera. All these may vary in nutritional value but most of them have a variety of health benefits. They contain various antioxidants which help to reduce the risk of certain health issues and vitamins that help the body to function well.

Apart from this, below are additional steps that can be undertaken as safety measures to combat the adverse impact of the heat wave.

a. Clean your face with cold water but not constantly. After washing, rub ice on the face.

b. Apply the sunscreen lotion whenever you are about to get exposed in the scorching heat. This will help in avoiding dark shades on the skin and will also prevent developing allergies from the sweat and heat.

c. Must include more Vitamin C and Calcium in the diet.

d. Include more water or fluid to keep the body well hydrated.

e. Light oils such as jojoba oil, lavender oil, Rosehip oil and grape seed oil can be used since these oils do not have a heavy consistency. They do not clog pores, instead, they hydrate your skin.

Dr Abhishek Kayal from Disha Eye Hospitals – Kolkata further adds some valuable suggestions regarding the eye-related problems that an individual can encounter due to rising temperatures outside with the remedies related to this.

While campaigning for the Lok Sabha Election 2024 in the summer season most of the people are affected with dehydration, heat stroke, and skin darkening. Common eye problems that one faces when the temperatures rise are allergies, conjunctivitis, and style. Protection and proper eye hygiene can help one keep away from excessive heat-driven eye problems. People who suffer from allergic diseases like asthma, eczema, etc are more prone to eye allergy. Common allergens that cause eye allergies are diesel exhaust, cigarette smoke, and perfumes.

Allergens cause our eye to release histamine that in turn makes your eye swell, become watery, and turn red. The symptoms of eye allergies are Swollen eyes, Red eyes, Puffy eyes, Itchy eyes or a burning sensation, Eyes watering excessively, and Stringy eye discharge Vessels in the clear tissue covering the white portion of the eye could be dilated.

In such circumstances, the patients are advised to rinse their eyes repeatedly with either cold or warm water, and then to wipe it gently with a soft tissue. Rose water is another natural remedy that has been used through the ages. Use 3 to 4 drops of rose water in both your eyes. Shut your eyes for around 5 minutes so that its full effects can take place. Avoid wearing contact lenses and in case you wear them you are advised to stop wearing them until treatment is complete. Disinfect hard lenses overnight before you reuse them. If home remedies do not work, your doctor can help you by prescribing suitable medication that will help you cure the infection.

8th April 2024: Ather Energy, one of India’s electric scooter manufacturers, today launched its family scooter, the Rizta, at the second edition of the Ather Community Day in Bengaluru. Designed and engineered as a scooter for the entire family, the Rizta prioritizes comfort, convenience, and safety. It comes with a host of new connected features to enhance the riding experience including features like SkidControlTM and WhatsApp on the dashboard. Competitively priced for the mass market, the Rizta starts at INR. 1,09,999 (Ex-showroom Bengaluru).

The all-new Rizta will have 2 models and three variants – Rizta S and Rizta Z with a 2.9 kWh battery and a top-end model Rizta Z with a 3.7 kWh. The 2.9 kWh variants will deliver a predicted IDC range of 123 kms and the 3.7 kWh variant will deliver 160 kms. While Ather offers the Rizta S in 3 monotone colors, the Rizta Z will be available in 7 colors which include 3 monotone and 4 dual-tone colors.

Tarun Mehta, Co-Founder & CEO, Ather Energy, said, “We entered the two-wheeler market with our performance scooter, the 450 series, which was recognized in the industry. Now, we are setting foot in the family segment with the Rizta, which has been designed and engineered with the Indian family in mind. It focuses on key aspects such as comfort, safety, and connected tech, which we believe makes it an upgrade from the conventional scooters in the market. Rizta will reflect Ather’s proposition of quality, reliability, and safety.”

Comfort and convenience

Ather Rizta aims to prioritize comfort and convenience, featuring the largest seat in its segment ensuring ample space for its users and a large floor board. Furthermore, the Rizta Z features a backrest for enhanced comfort by providing lumbar support for the pillion. With 56L storage space, including a 34L underseat capacity, and an optional 22L Frunk accessory, Ather believes Rizta offers a large storage space in the scooter market, making it easy to carry day-to-day essentials. The under-seat storage can also be fitted with an optional multi-purpose charger with an 18W power output, which can charge electronic devices such as phones, tablets, portable speakers, and other similar devices.

Safety and ride handling

Over the years, Ather has been committed to improving the safety standard for two-wheeler riders by launching multiple features. With Rizta, Ather introduces the SkidControl™. This is Ather’s proprietary traction control system that seamlessly controls motor torque to mitigate the loss of traction while accelerating on low friction surfaces such as patches of road with gravel, sand, water, or oil.

Additional safety features, such as FallSafeTM, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Theft & Tow Detect, and Find My Scooter which were previously seen on Ather’s 450 series of scooters, too are integrated into the Ather Rizta.

All three variants come with a top speed of 80 mph and two riding modes – Zip and SmartEco. Moreover, ride assist features such as MagicTwistTM, AutoHoldTM, and Reverse Mode, integrated in the 450 series are also present in the Rizta.

The Rizta carries over the same philosophy as the 450 series including its low center of gravity, balanced weight distribution from front to rear, and equal balance on both sides, allowing precise control regardless of the rider’s level of skills or prevalent riding conditions. The Rizta is easy to maneuver given its shorter 1286mm wheelbase.

HALO – Smart Helmet

Ather also announced its entry into the Smart Helmet category with the Ather HALO product line. Ather HALO is a full-face, top-of-the-line, integrated smart helmet. It will feature superlative audio by Harman Kardon. It offers riders a seamless experience with its proprietary auto WearDetect technology, and wireless charging, and allows them to control music & calls through the scooter’s handlebar. HALO also comes with Ather ChitChatTM, which enables helmet-to-helmet communication between the rider and pillion. It has a clean and futuristic design and comes with two color options.

Ather has partnered with Harman Kardon to deliver high-quality audio, enhancing the ride experience. HALO has also been designed to add a layer of safety for the rider by allowing critical sounds, thus delivering an uninterrupted and safe listening experience. Ather believes they have ensured seamless integration of the helmet with the scooter, which includes a specially developed wireless charging solution in Rizta’s boot. Halo’s wear-detect technology allows the helmet to recognize when it’s worn, enabling a seamless 3 way pairing of the helmet, phone, and scooter. Ather believes all of this ensures an engaging, enjoyable and safe ride with Halo.

In addition to this, Ather introduced HALO Bit, a module that can be attached to Ather’s half-face helmets. Ather has developed an ISI and DOT-rated custom half-face helmet, which will be available to all customers soon and will be compatible with HALO Bit, enabling every Ather helmet to be a smart helmet. The introductory price of HALO is INR 12,999 and HALO Bit is INR 4,999.

Swapnil Jain, Co-founder & CTO of Ather Energy said, “We wanted to transform helmets from a mere compulsion to an integral part of a fun, engaging ride. So we built the HALO, our first smart helmet which offers premium sound by Harmon Kardon and integrates our proprietary auto WearDetect technology and wireless charging. With HALO we made sure that the experience extends to the pillion with features such as ChitChatTM and music sharing. “

AtherStack 6.0

Ather also rolled out AtherStack 6.0, the latest upgrade to its software stack. AtherStack powers all the experiences on Ather Scooters It is built on various interconnected layers of software, firmware, and system algorithms. The latest update brings a host of new features and experiences to the scooters including a new mobile app, integration with WhatsApp on the Ather dashboard, live location sharing, ping my scooter, auto reply to calls, and Alexa integration. Existing Ather owners will also get AtherStack 6.0 as an over-the-air update with some of these features.

“AtherStack has been an integral part of our product strategy since the launch of our first scooter, allowing us to constantly enhance our product experience. With new features like WhatsApp on the dashboard, live location sharing and voice commands, we believe Ather Stack 6.0 will bring an important upgrade to rider safety, convenience and connectivity. Optimising the touchscreen dashboard and revamping the mobile app will offer a seamless ownership experience to both Rizta and Ather 450 customers” added Swapnil Jain, Co-founder & CTO of Ather Energy.

With WhatsApp on the dashboard, the rider can now read their most recent messages on the dashboard when the scooter is at a standstill, essentially eliminating the hassle of checking their phones during their ride. The new ‘Ping my scooter feature’ gives Ather owners the ability to find their scooter amidst a sea of other two-wheelers with the help of loud audio and visual cues, which can be activated with the tap of a button on the new Ather App. Another new feature in AtherStack 6.0 is the integration of Alexa Smart Assistant, which comes with over 50 prompts available in both English and Hindi. Riders can access information like the current charge status, last parked location, trip feasibility, push navigation, and more with just a voice command. Live location sharing is another new safety feature that allows a rider to share their location while on the move, to a pre-set contact.

The all-new mobile app brings a more personalized and seamless experience to Ather customers. Along with a new interface, the app brings a new feature named WidgetX that provides the user with contextual information on the home screen. The app also provides detailed insights into their ride history, and savings due to switching to EV and commemorates various milestones.

All three variants come with Ather’s 5-year optional warranty program, ‘Ather Battery Protect’ which extends the battery warranty to 5 years/60,000 kms. This warranty program not only covers battery failures but also guarantees a minimum of 70% state-of-health for the battery at the end of 5 years.

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Hyderabad,8th April 2024 ….. Corporate Connections expands its footprint in Telangana. In a function held in Hotel Park Hyatt in Hyderabad on Saturday night, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government launched a new chapter of a global networking platform in Hyderabad

Mr.S.P.Reddy, Chairman & MD, Terminus Group, S. Sharad Mahiswari, Kamalesh Gupta, Executive Directors of Corporate Connections and KVT Ramesh Master Franchise for Corporate Connections in Telangana and AP also graced the launch.

Speaking on the occasion Jayesh Ranjan said Telangana is a progressive state. But our progress is island growth. Our growth is not inclusive. While large companies are doing well MSMEs are struggling, shutting down. While urban cities are progressing fast, rural places are stagnant. Though we promised to double agriculture income, we are nowhere close to doubling. So he emphasized balancing economic growth in the state.

Jayesh Ranjan urged just launched Chapter 7 to focus on Telangana as the most progressive state to their peers in other states. Showcase the strengths of the state. Promote investments into the state. This music to government officials like me. He expressed his desire that the Government of Telangana will work with Corporate Connections and Chapter 7 in organizing their global events at Hyderabad

Corporate Communications has already one chapter in Hyderabad and it is the second one.

This Chapter launched had an initial membership of 18 individuals/business owners, Ssharad Mahiswari, Executive Director, of Corporate Connections said that they would be limiting the membership to 25 per chapter.

About 100 guests including Corporate Connections members and many outstation guests participated in the launch function. We had the presence of Directors & Members from 18 Cities in India and a video message was shared by Global Market President Robert Gervais informed Sharad Mahiswari.

Corporate Communications is Canada-headquartered and has a global presence. Corporate Connections is spread over 4 continents across 29 countries and 65 cities.

Corporate Connections has 600-plus Members in India and plans to expand to various cities in India. We are looking to spread our wings into multiple cities immediately,” said KVT Ramesh

This is an ideal platform for global business leaders to generate exceptional and measurable results through executive networking opportunities. Our proven model has helped executives build strategic and tactical relationships through a structured and supportive environment and has been a catalyst for change in their businesses and communities.

Further, only one individual from an industry vertical can become a member of a chapter. “to make a safe environment to do business”.

“Corporate Connections is the premier platform for accelerating executive-level connections. It provides global business leaders with the ideal setting for generating exceptional and measurable results through executive networking opportunities.” “Our members join CorporateConnections®️ to develop business relationships, gain access to advanced professional development opportunities and participate in peer advisory groups, said S. Shard Mahiswari.